US Drug Stocks Rise, OSI Up On Tarceva Study Results

  By Val Brickates Kennedy 
 

Most drug stocks were higher Monday, with shares of OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OSIP) up on news a clinical study has shown its product Tarceva can help extend the lives of certain lung cancer patients.

The Amex Pharmaceutical Index rose 0.8% to 258.38 while the Amex Biotechnology Index fell 0.3% to 644.49.

Shares of OSI stock leapt 8.7% to $30.89. OSI said that data from a Phase III study showed that certain patients who took Tarceva following chemotherapy lived longer. Details from the study will be presented at a scientific meeting at the end of July.

The product is co-marketed with Swiss drug maker Roche's (RHHBY) oncology division, Genentech.

Roche and OSI are seeking to have Tarceva approved in the U.S. and Europe as a first-line treatment for advanced lung cancer, when used immediately after chemotherapy. The product is currently approved only for patients who have failed at least one round of chemotherapy.

Bayer AG (BAYRY) shares advanced 3.7% to $51.56. The German conglomerate reported positive Phase II results for its tracer agent florbetaben in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The compound is used with PET imaging technology.

Bayer said it plans to begin Phase III testing at the end of 2009. Currently, Alzheimer's can only be definitively diagnosed through an autopsy.

Shares of Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) were off 1.8% at $32.72.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lilly's new blood thinner, prasugrel, also known as Effient, for the prevention of blood clots in patients undergoing angioplasty. However, the product will carry a stern warning label advising that it can cause serious bleeding problems in some users.

Effient was co-developed with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co. (4568.TO).

Lilly also markets a leading lung cancer therapy called Alimta, which had sales of over $1 billion last year.

-Val Brickates Kennedy; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]