Amigos y Amigas
here is a medical stock that I really like the chart on
NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - Shares of CollaGenex
Pharmaceuticals Inc jumped Tuesday after the company
said it would present a new drug application amendment giving
additional clinical data about its treatment for periodontal
disease, Periostat.
CollaGenex on Tuesday said the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration had agreed to let the Pennsylvania company
revise its August 1996 new drug application by including data
from a Phase III trial of Periostat completed in 1997.
Shares were up 2-9/16 to 9-5/8 in afternoon trade, helped
by an Alex. Brown upgrade of the company earlier Tuesday to
strong buy from buy.
Christopher Perry, an analyst for the Pennsylvania Merchant
Group, said investors have been concerned for some time about
the FDA's inaction on the drug application. "There was concern
it (the delay) meant the FDA might require CollaGenex to
conduct another clinical trial," Perry said.
But he added the agency, by encouraging submission of data
from the 1997 trial, was indicating those data might be
adequate to justify drug approval by the end of 1998.
CollaGenex said it planned to submit the new data to the
FDA "within the next few weeks."
Perry said the active ingredient of Periostat, the
antibacterial agent doxycycline, inhibits the breakdown of
collagen that forms the pocket between the gums and teeth.
Doctors would prescribe the drug, he said, as an occasional
adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) procedures used to
remove plaque that is responsible for inflamed gums.
He said 67 million Americans, one third of the population,
have periodontal disease and an estimated 13 million seek
treatment.
Sergio, could you dig up some dirt for me on this one.
thanks
david |
