Astex Pharmaceuticals Climbs on Expected European Approval

Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ASTX) rose the most in almost seven months on expectations that the developer of experimental cancer drugs will receive regulatory approval this quarter from Europe for its leukemia treatment. Astex surged 15.4 percent to $2.77 at the close in New York, the most since Jan. 27. The shares of the Dublin, California-based company have risen 47 percent this year. “They’ve had a good run, really a great run since the middle of May,” George Zavoico, an analyst with McNicoll Lewis & Vlak LLC in New York, said in an interview. He has a buy rating on Astex, with a target price of $3.50.