Mike, Dr P.,
After seeing today's CRME press release, I've completely flip flopped and sold some in the money naked puts which, if assigned, will yield an $8.30 entry point not counting commissions.
With Astellas picking up all refiling costs, I'm much less pessimistic re the existing trial results and more willing to accept the premise that this may well have been just an inadvertent clerical error.
Snippet from today's PR:
But Rodman & Renshaw analyst Michael King said RSD1235 has the "most attractive safety and efficacy profile of any AF agent to date" and its strong clinical data will increase its "attractiveness as the drug-of-choice to terminate and suppress AF occurrence after conversion."
In earlier late-stage clinical studies, Vancouver-based Cardiome said 52 per cent of patients treated in hospital with an intravenous version of RSD1235 converted to normal heart rhythm, with a median time to conversion of eight minutes, compared with 4 per cent of patients receiving a placebo.
Under the new accord, Cardiome said that Astellas will cover all the costs of the revised filing. It will also receive $10-million from Astellas when it files with the FDA. Previously, the cash injection was conditional on the FDA accepting the application for review.
"This action by our partner Astellas is a clear demonstration of their confidence in the RSD1235 intravenous program," said Cardiome chief executive officer Bob Rieder. |
