Pfizer Deal Boosts Heart-Drug Companies
Monday December 22, 4:25 pm ET By Toni Clarke
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of several small companies developing heart drugs rose on Monday, a day after Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - News) said it would pay $1.3 billion to acquire Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqNM:ESPR - News), whose main drug raises "good" cholesterol.
Shares of Lipid Sciences Inc. (NasdaqNM:LIPD - News), AtheroGenics Inc. (NasdaqNM:AGIX - News) and VasoGen Inc. (NasdaqNM:VSGN - News) all rose on increased optimism that their technologies will produce drugs that prevent or treat heart disease by controlling the buildup of fats in arteries.
Shares of Atlanta-based AtheroGenics rose $1.28, or 9.5 percent, to close at $14.78 on Nasdaq, a rally company Chief Financial Officer Mark Colonnese ascribed to investor excitement over the Pfizer deal.
"I think Pfizer's merger with Esperion, and the price being paid by Pfizer, is reminding investors about the potential of new approaches against heart disease," Colonnese told Reuters.
AtheroGenics' drug, called AGI-1067, is being tested in mid- and late-stage trials to see if it can reverse clogging of the arteries and prolong survival. It is designed to reduce the inflammation within arteries that is believed to accelerate the buildup of fats.
Lipid Sciences rose 11 percent, or 37 cents, to close at $3.72 on Nasdaq. The company earlier this month said it was strengthening its program to develop drugs that improve levels of HDL -- the good form of cholesterol that removes artery-clogging "bad" LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.
Researchers are beginning to suggest that high levels of protective HDL are as important in preventing buildup of plaque in the arteries as the reduction of LDL.
Esperion's injectable drug, which reversed clogging of the arteries in a small mid-stage clinical trial, mimics good cholesterol. Shares of Esperion rose 52 percent, making it the percentage-gain leader on Nasdaq.
Pleasanton, California-based Lipid Sciences aims to come up with medicines that boost the efficiency of HDL. But it could take years for the company's technology to prove itself.
Mississauga, Canada-based Vasogen saw its shares rise 95 cents, or 15 percent, to close at $7.20, on Nasdaq. The company's lead experimental product is a treatment for chronic heart failure and peripheral arterial disease called Celacade.
Celacade, currently in late-stage trials, is designed to target chronic inflammation by modulating the immune system's response to certain cells. |
