Unusual Biotech Movers (ASTM, BTRX, BCRX, CELG, NSTK, TRMS)

If you are a stem cell watcher, you may want to watch Aastrom Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM) as it reports earnings on Monday. Shares are down 3% at $0.40 today. With a $53 million market cap, this isn't the most influential stock tied to stem cells.

Barrier Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BTRX) saw some highly unusual movement with a 15% rise to $2.31 (52-week trading range $1.63 to $7.60).

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) saw a continues drop of almost 7% to $2.73 today, and that is after a similar drop yesterday after the company's earnings report.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) saw a 1% drop to $61.80. We saw a duel in analyst calls today, and generally speaking downgrades take away more 'ooomph' than upgrades can add on the same day, particularly when the downgrade is from a bulge bracket firm and the upgrade is by a boutique. Pacific Growth Equities raised its rating to Buy, but Credit Suisse lowered its rating to Neutral from outperform.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTK) saw a drop of more than 8% to $1.19 after its earnings report yesterday. 52-week trading had been $1.25 to $17.05. Count that as a 52-week low.

Shares of Trimeras Inc. (NASDAQ: TRMS) are down 9% at $6.35 today after the company has unveiled its plans to return most of its cash to shareholders now that it is down to a whopping 10 employees. At $50, 5-years ago, this stock has gone from potential boom to bust. Why does the term biotech zombie ring a bell here????

Rachel Lopez
May 9, 2008

Novo Nordisk Donates Compound Library to China Center

by Richard Daverman, PhD
ChinBio Today




Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) donated a license for its very extensive small-molecule compound library to the National Center for Drug Screening (NCDS), which is affiliated with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The compound library contains an estimated 325,000 chemical structures. Because Novo Nordisk is turning its attention from small-molecule drugs to protein-based compounds, the company wanted the library, accumulated over decades of research, to be put to good use. It feels that NCDS will be able to accomplish that by using the library to find drugs for unmet needs.

The NCDS will screen the library’s compounds and its database for drug candidates that can treat and prevent the infectious tropical diseases that afflict people in poor countries. In this endeavor, the NCDS will be aided by the World Health Organization-based Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR).

The TDR will select targets and screens to support the identification of new drug candidates or leads for infectious tropical diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, African sleeping sickness, dengue, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, filariasis, onchocerciasis and soil-transmitted helminths. It will also bring in young scientists from developing countries, especially Africa, to be trained at the institute, combining scientists from developing and developed countries.

Novo Nordisk was the first international pharmaceutical company to establish an R&D center in China, building a Center of Excellence in Beijing in 2002. Previously, the company constructed a manufacturing facility to make insulin in Tianjin in 1996. Novo Nordisk has been selling diabetes-related products in China since the 1960s.




ChinaBio Today is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
_________________

SMS makes its way into US health care

by David E. Williams
Health Business Blog




Text messaging isn’t exactly big news. Most people have heard about it, even if they associate it only with teens who’ve given up talking on the phone or even meeting in person in order to spend their time texting. But text messaging has actually been slower to catch on with the general population in the US than has been the case overseas. And of course health care isn’t usually the rapid adopter of new communications tools.

Clickatell, which provides SMS text messaging solutions in various industries around the world thanks to its relationships with over 700 mobile carriers, is making a push into the health care space. I spoke yesterday with the company’s EVP of marketing, Chuck Drake in advance of today’s announcement that Clickatell is partnering with three health care organizations. (Although you wouldn’t know it from his Clickatell profile, Chuck actually has experience in the pharmaceutical world, where he worked on Rx to OTC switches for GSK.)

Clickatell has an interesting initial list of health care partners:

A branch of the UK’s National Health Service, “which will raise awareness around health issues such as diet, drugs and safe sex among the general public, with a specific focus on teen health.” Teens can send simple messages like “stop smoking” and get info in return. (You can bet that some of the requests will be a little more titillating than the one chosen for the press release.)

ComplyRx, a Georgia-based health care compliance company. According to ComplyRx’s president, “Text messaging provides and inexpensive and convenient way for doctors to communicate with patients or caregivers to remind them of important medical treatments, and Clickatell… ensure[s] that… messages don’t get lost…”

Cell-Life, a non-profit that uses SMS to send HIV/AIDS management information to South Africans.

I told Chuck I was somewhat skeptical about the ability of older Americans, who are the principal users of health care, to use text messaging. He told me I should put aside my thoughts of how teens text on a peer-to-peer basis and think instead about the receipt of messages from an entity like ComplyRx or a bank. That’s a much lower hurdle to clear and is good for applications such as appointment and medication reminders as well as basic educational information.

I also wonder about whether consumers will object to seeing text messaging charges on their cell phone bills, but according to Chuck the days of carriers charging for individual messaging are coming to an end. (I hope someone tells my carrier about that.)

What I like about SMS for health care is its low cost and ease of use. I’m hopeful that it will catch on.





Health Business Blog is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
______________________

NatusConsolidates Newborn Hearing Loss Screening with Acquisition

by Doug Cress
Med Tech Sentinel




Natus Medical (BABY) announced yesterday that it will acquire SonaMed, a privately held company based in Waltham, MA.

SonaMed manufactures and markets the Clarity Screener for the screening of hearing loss in newborns. The company reported revenues of $3.5 million in 2007.

According to Jim Hawkins, Natus’ President and CEO, “SonaMed has successfully created a distinct presence in the domestic newborn hearing screening market. We believe SonaMed is a very well run company that has been consistently profitable for many years.”

Earlier this month, Natus priced an offering to sell 770,000 shares of common stock at $18.27 per share, in all likelihood meant to offset SonaMed’s purchase price. Net proceeds were approximately $13.4 million. The acquisition will be accretive to Natus’ earnings in the first full quarter of ownership. Natus raked in $118 million last year and expects revenues of $160 million in 2008.

Natus already enjoys an 80% market share in the U.S. newborn hearing screening market. Approximately 95% of the children born in the U.S. are currently being tested for hearing impairment prior to discharge from the hospital. As such, the U.S. market is mature. Growth in the company’s newborn hearing loss screening segment will come mostly from abroad where less than one-in-four newborns are being tested.

Like Natus, most of Sonamed’s revenues (two-thirds) are recurring and generated from the sale of disposables. These supplies sell at very a high gross profit margin. Natus may face increasing competition from independent suppliers offering lower prices, according to its most recent annual report.

Sources estimate that 1 – 6 out of 1000 newborns will have congenital hearing loss. The first three years of life, and especially the first six months, are critical for normal speech and language development; if left unidentified, a child is at a significant disadvantage for the remainder of their life.





Med Tech Sentinel is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
_______________

BioHealth Investor.com is for sale!

I was dreading this announcement, but its time has come. My career as a dentist is finally taking off and keeping me too busy to maintain this blog's full potential.

Therefore, after a year and a half of surprising success I have no choice but to place BioHealth Investor(BHI) up for sale.

BHI is syndicated on SeekingAlpha.com, BioSpace.com, TheMoneyBlogs.com, Newstex.com and is regularly featured on Yahoo! Finance, Google Finance, TheStreet.com. Those were just the big boys, BHI is also syndicated all over the net, through hundreds of sites, blogs, networks, and directories.

BHI has also been approved for the soon to be launched Forbes financial blog network, and is currently a member of the Business of Biotech Network and Investors Blog Network (IBN)

BHI usually places on the first page of Google Search for keywords Biotechnology Stocks, Medical Stocks, and Biotech Stocks. This search placement can be very valuable.

BHI is syndicated to various educational and media outlets through Newstex.com
http://www.newstex.com/products/story_blog.php?blog_id=1514

BHI currently collects revenue through various advertising and syndication channels, including Google AdSense, Yahoo Ads, CommissionJunction (www.cj.com), BHI company directory (yearly subscription), newstex.com, and will soon start collecting ad revenue from the soon to be launched Forbes financial blog network.


you can learn more about BioHealth Investor by visiting biohealthinvestor.com and clicking on About Us.


Here are the links to BioHealth Investor as shown by Google
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=link%3Abiohealthinvestor.com

value of BioHealthInvestor.com on dnscoop.com:
go to http://www.dnscoop.com/, enter biohealthinvestor.com into field and click on CheckIt!

All the above was achieved in less than 18 months.

currently, I am the only administrator and editor of the blog. on a daily basis I update the top stocks in the industry through Yahoo Finance, that takes me about 10 to 15 minutes 5 days a week. I also write my own exclusive articles once every 2 weeks or so. I also syndicate posts from various contributors of other blogs and sites, that takes another 10 to 15 minutes daily.


Who coule be interested in taking over BHI?

PR Firms - BHI could be a great tool in promoting medical and health related clients. The blogosphere is fast becoming a valuable resource for companies to reach out to investors in an informal way.

financial brokers - who would be interested in promoting their services to new investors and clients, including their newsletters and stock picks.

bloggers - interested in writing and keeping up with finance and stocks, and in making revenue through various advertising channels.

If you are interested in finding out more about BHI or details such as revenue numbers and asking price please contact me at:

hsayoub @ biohealth investor . com (ignore spacing)


Sincerely,
Hisham


Dr.Hisham S. Ayoub, DMD
www.biohealthinvestor.com

Friday's Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor



Subscribe now to keep up to date on the latest news, articles and daily top stocks:

Subscribe by Email
Subscribe by Feed




Biotechnology

PDL BIOPHARMA INC [PDLI] +16.91%
SENESCO TECH [SNT] +10.40%
TRANSDEL PHARMACTL [TDLP.OB] +8.53%
METABASIS THERAPEUTI [MBRX] +8.14%
MICROMET INC [MITI] +7.94%



Diagnostic Substances

ORCHID CELLMARK INC [ORCH] +5.36%
PRESSURE BIOSCIENC [PBIO] +3.42%
REMOTEMDX INC [RMDX.OB] +3.25%
LEXICON PHARMACEUTCL [LXRX] +1.53%
IMMUCELL CP [ICCC] +1.36%



Drug Delivery

ACURA PHARMACEUTICAL [ACUR] +2.79%
COLUMBIA LABS INC [CBRX] +2.27%
ARADIGM CORP [ARDM.OB] +1.96%



Drug Manufacturers

MARSHALL EDWARDS [MSHL] +16.88%
NOVOGEN LTD ADS [NVGN] +7.83%
PROVECTUS PHARMA [PVCT.OB] +6.67%
ARDEA BIOSCIENCES [RDEA] +4.17%
MIDDLEBROOK PHARMACL [MBRK] +4.01%



Drug Related Products

INTEGRATED BIOPHARMA [INBP] +8.50%
NUTRACEUTICAL INTL [NUTR] +1.35%
CURATECH INDUSTRIES [CUTC.OB] +0.77%
DRAXIS HEALTH INC [DRAX] +0.51%



Generic Drugs

CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +4.27%
MYLAN INC [MYL] +0.08%



Medical Appliances & Equipment

SIGNALIFE INC. [SGN] +30.10%
NEWCARDIO, INC. [NWCI.OB] +5.41%
IVIVI TECHNOLOGIES, [IVVI] +5.00%
SRI/SURGICAL EXPRE [STRC] +4.78%
LECTEC CORP [LECT.OB] +4.55%



Medical Instruments & Supplies

INSULET CORPORATION [PODD] +4.51%
PRO-DEX INC NEW [PDEX] +3.29%
INFUSYSTEMS HOLDINGS [INHI.OB] +2.92%
CAS MEDICAL SYS INC [CASM] +2.10%
OCULUS INNOVATIVE SC [OCLS] +1.80%



Medical Laboratories & Research

BIO-IMAGING TECH [BITI] +2.96%
MEDTOX SCIENTFIC INC [MTOX] +0.54%





- Thursday's Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Wednesday's Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
__________________

To Antigenics or Not to Antigenics?

by Michael Shulman
BiotechBlitz




Antigenics (AGEN) got a Russian approval for its cancer immunotherapy -- a cancer "vaccine" is the sexy, headline grabbing term. This also created a few seconds of buzz around two other immunotherapy companies, Dendreon (DNDN) and Cell Genesys (CEGE). I mention these two other companies because (for purposes of full disclosure) I own CEGE stock and recommend it in my newsletter service. I also own a full hedged position of DNDN that I can't wait to liquidate when my hedge expires.

In the United States, AGEN has failed to get approvals from the FDA for good reason: Its treatment, Oncophage, didn't work in Phase III trials and didn't even come close -- which is at least a sort of argument DNDN could and did make.

Oncophage targets kidney cancer and was shown to work within a sub-group of patients with "lower-stage tumors," and therefore a better shot at survival. 45% of these patients responded to Oncophage, hence the approval in a Russia looking to build new industries.

A couple of things are going on that are of critical interest to dying patients and some interest to investors:

• I started my career as a biotech wise-guy and sage, and I was a fan of the FDA under Dr. Mark McClellan. I now believe the agency kills far more people in a month than Rumsfeld and successors have done in Iraq. How? The FDA, despite what it says, does not really change its view of trial results for drugs for dying patients who have no hope.

Its statisticians hide behind numbers, insisting trial data be used only based on the original protocol for the trial -- subset analyses not in the original plan are verboten. And this is true even for patients with absolutely no alternative other than a very painful death.

• Medicine is moving worldwide and if Antigenics can treat a cancer patient in Russia, people with money in the United States and Europe will go there for treatment -- treatment that will be a lot cheaper than in the United States, even if Oncophage is approved in the U.S.

Immunotherapies from Antigenics and Dendreon are capital and labor intensive -- treatments are literally customized and prepared in a factory for each patient -- and Russia is a lot cheaper place to do that than other places.

• Professional investors are so disgusted with the FDA and so aware of the vibrant new international medicine market that they are willing to financially support the Antigenics business model. The proof is a new private offering by Antigenics to the tune of $21 million.

Where does this leave investors?

• AGEN is now an interesting play because it may now be able to generate revenue AND prove out its therapy in a distinctive sub-group of patients without needing huge additional infusions of capital.

• DNDN now has a fallback. I believe their interim trial results will not get them an approval due to the way the trial is structured and their final results may not be strong enough under the current regime of statistical fascism at the FDA. So, Dendreon could go to Russia, but probably would go the China or India route if necessary.

• Cell Genesys has by far the best-structured trials -- it provide for patients with and without the current standard of late-stage care, have embedded metrics using immune system biomarkers and are huge. In my opinion CEGE stands the best chance of an FDA approval, but the Russia, India, China option helps CEGE too, as it now has a fallback if needed.

The bottom line here is that this was not a minor announcement by Antigenics. It has far-reaching ramifications and you can expect other companies with good sub-group analysis and life-saving treatments -- but no FDA approval -- to look to Russia, China and India for quick trials, drug approvals and an international base to build out their product.

And this reduces the risk in many companies.





BiotechBlitz is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
__________________