I have posted a couple of updates on another SI thread
Message 7565381
and received some interest
techstocks.com
I'd like to claim responsibility for the price upswing, but it appears to be due instead to Shaman's announcement that it is giving up on Provir. That leaves SUNP in the lead position for an AIDS-related refractory diarrhea drug.
Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 02-01-99
02:23 PM
- - 02 23 PM EST 02-01-99 :TICKER:SHMN . SUNP . SUBJECT: DRUG CA FL
STK =SunPharm Shrs -2-: Co.'s AIDs Treatment In Phase II Trials
Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones
By Kate Berry
MIAMI (Dow Jones)--Shares of a tiny biopharmaceutical company SunPharm Corp.
(SUNP) jumped 120% Monday while shares of its main rival,
Shaman Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SHMN), fell more than 50% after Shaman said it plans
to cease operations in its pharmaceuticals business.
Shaman Pharmaceuticals of San Francisco, announced Monday that it plans to
downsize and cease operations of its pharmaceuticals business after receiving
disappointing news last week from the Food & Drug Administration regarding
SP-303/Provir, a treatment for diarrhea in AIDS patients that is in Phase 3
trials.
SunPharm, its main competitor, currently has an AIDs-related diarrhea product in
Phase 2 trials.
"The FDA is saying the field is wide open," Paul Herron, SunPharm's chief financial
officer, said.
But, he added: "We've had many, many calls on this, there's no announcement or
pending announcement behind the activity."
Shares of SunPharm rose 1 3/16, or 126%, to 2 1/8, on heavy volume of 261,500
shares, compared with average daily volume of roughly 11,000 shares.
Shares of Shaman fell 15/32, or 53.6% to 13/32, hitting a new 52-week low.
Shaman's previous low was 3/4, set on Jan. 27.
SunPharm, of Jacksonville, Fla., has roughly 6.7 million common shares, with a public
float of between 2 million to 3 million. The stock price is
volatile amid abnormal volume levels.
Officials at Shaman Pharmaceuticals did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
But in a press release, the company said it was "surprised" by the FDA's reaction to a
Jan. 27 meeting for a pre-New Drug Application. The company said
last week that it planned to review its filing strategy for SP-303.
But in a press release Monday, Shaman's President and Chief Executive Lisa Conte
said the company will lay off 60 people and refocus on botanicals, not
pharmaceuticals. She cited the hostile environment for financing and the company's
current cash position.
In addition to the disappointing news from Shaman Pharmaceuticals, SunPharm's stock
may have been affected by the expiration Monday of the waiting
period for tax-losses, Herron said.
-By Kate Berry 305-379-3744;
kate.berry@cor.dowjones.com.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 02-01-99
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