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Biotech / Medical : AXCAN Pharma(AXCA)..A GUT FEELING! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Arthur Radley who wrote (24)	9/6/2000 7:58:25 AM
From: Arthur Radley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46

REUTERS - 9/6/00 12:37:00 AM By Ian Karleff TORONTO (Reuters) - The risk of cancer of the esophagus caused by prolonged heartburn is chopped in half when Axcan Pharma Inc.'s PHOTOFRIN therapy is used to treat an affliction known as Barrett's Esophogus, the company said on Tuesday. Quebec-based Axcan announced phase 3 study results on its PHOTOFRIN therapy at a Diseases of the Esophagus conference in Paris on Tuesday. No cure exists for Barrett's Esophogus. It is caused by a prolonged acid reflux or heartburn, and eventually the esophageal tissue is converted into tissue that resembles stomach lining, which in turn makes it susceptible to cancer. PHOTOFRIN, which is already approved in the United States for esophagus cancer, was shown in the study to cut the incidence of Barrett's Esophagus progressing to cancer by 47 percent. Axcan hopes to file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this application of PHOTOFRIN in the first quarter of 2001 and then in Canada and Europe, said company spokeswoman Isabelle Adjahi. Adjahi said the drug could generate sales in North America and Europe of $60 million annually, and there is a good chance that regulators will fast-track the normal approval process. ``We are crossing our fingers because it has already been approved for the treatment of cancer of the esophagus so we hope we will be fast-tracked and get approval by the end of the year (2001),'' Adjahi said. The company's shares dropped C$2.50, or 13.5 percent, to close at C$16 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, although Adjahi said it was not the drug results that put downward pressure on the stock. Last week Axcan was added to the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Composite Index, which pushed the stock to a year high because fund managers were compelled to buy the stock. Adjahi said today's stock price decline was more an issue of it returning to normal levels after a spate of heavy buying pressure than a response to any news.