Nuvelo
The market had an upward momentum last week, helped by falling oil prices as well as bullish seasonal and technical considerations, stocks edged forward despite mixed economic data, a disappointing Employment Report and weaker than anticipated retail sales and a declining dollar.
For the biotechs, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) is holding its annual meeting in San Diego, CA and Nuvelo, Inc./NASDAQ: NUVO, a biotechnology company who develops novel anti-clotting and coagulation therapies to treat a variety of cardiovascular indications, presented new clinical data regarding the company's lead therapeutic, alifmeprase.
Nuvelo's alifmeprase is being developed to treat catheter occlusion (CO). CO is the obstruction of flow in a central venous catheter - an access tube placed in a vein commonly on the upper arm to allow infusion of nutrition, chemotherapy and other fluids. Alfimeprase is a recombinant protein that breaks up the fibrin that holds blood clots together. In July 2004, Nuvelo completed a Phase II alfimeprase trial comparing three doses of alfimeprase to Genentech's Cathflo Activase in patients with occluded central venous catheters and Nuvelo presented Phase II data set for alfimeprase in CO at ASH. The mid-stage trial showed alfimperase dissolved clots and produced increased accumulative blood flow rates than Cathflo Activase. Nuvelo's alfimeprase offers a novel thrombolytic to address the unmet needs of CO care. Since alfimeprase's anticoagulant activity is limited to the site of application, the incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage, clotting, and systemic bleeds should be significantly reduced. It is estimated that about five million catheters are placed in patients each year in the U.S., of which approximately 20-25% become occluded. This represents a large patient population that could benefit from alfmeprase. Nuvelo will initiate a Phase III trial in CO in the first half of 2005.
Nuvelo has the finances and the management experience to develop its key drug alfimeprase to its full potential. Thus, Nuvelo is an interesting investment opportunity in the cardiovascular arena; Wall Street has pegged a target price of $16.
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