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Strategies & Market Trends : Trade/Invest with Options Jerry a Point & Figure Chartist -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerry Olson who wrote (3495)	9/7/2001 9:56:25 AM
From: besttrader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5893

Maybe this will help you jerry. :) --> Friday August 24, 3:13 pm Eastern Time ViroPharma jumps as cold drug data circulates (UPDATE: adds background, byline, updates stock price) By William Borden NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Shares of ViroPharma Inc. (NasdaqNM:VPHM - news), a firm developing a treatment for the common cold, jumped as initial reports about the drug's effectiveness reached the public. ADVERTISEMENT A study on 1,044 patients showed that most patients exhibited a significantly reduced severity of cold symptoms within 12 to 24 hours after the first dose of Picovir, also known as Pleconaril, and the drug shortened the duration of colds by a day and a half, according to an abstract of the study. Other portions of the study to be presented at the conference further highlight Picovir's prospects, including a lower level of ``viral shedding'' in nasal mucus that leads to the spreading of colds, said Carolyn Pratt, analyst at Needham & Co. The drug also shows a sustained benefit in treating the cold, unlike over-the-counter remedies, Pratt said. ViroPharma shares rose 14.63 percent, or $4.45, to $34.87 in afternoon trading after abstracts of an upcoming presentation about the drug study reached investors. Dr. Frederick Hayden from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Dr. Kenneth Kim of the Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Care Center of Long Beach, California, were listed as authors of ``Pleconaril Treatment Reduces Duration and Severity of Viral Respiratory Infection (common cold) due to Piconraviruses.'' The study will be presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 23. ``There is a good indication that the efficacy is there,'' said Steve Brozak, a biotech analyst with Vanguard Capital who has had a ``strong buy'' recommendation on the stock for about a year. ``This is a tool for doctors to be able to avoid prescribing antibiotics which have no effect on any kind of viruses.'' ViroPharma submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to get marketing approval for Picovir in July. A company spokeswoman declined to comment on the stock activity, but said the ViroPharma is in the process of selecting a marketing partner for the drug. Brozak said the results that will be presented next month will give ViroPharma leverage in any negotiations over marketing rights. Brozak and Pratt said the drug will likely be priced close to antibiotics, which are often wrongly prescribed to treat colds. There have been questions about the drug's efficacy after it failed to meet objectives in a Phase III trial last year. A Barron's report in May suggested that Picovir might not meet the Food and Drug Administration's criteria for approval. Last year, ViroPharma ended three Phase III trials on the drug because of disappointing results. The stock fell 66 percent to $24-1/8 on April 11, 2000, after the results, and dropped below $12 the following month. Brozak said the studies last year were flawed since there were too many variables, such as patients taking other cold drugs during the treatment, to determine the effectiveness of Picovir.