The Day In Review: Sanofi-Aventis (France) Adds To Generics Business

March 26, 2006 – Sanofi-Aventis spent over $500 million for a 25% stake in a Czech generic drug company; Encysive got an approvable letter for Thelin, sending the stock into a tailspin; Pfizer won European approval of Lyrica as a treatment for anxiety; Amgen won approval for a longer dosing schedule for Aranesp; Immtech began a Phase III trial of an oral drug therapy for HIV/AIDS patients with pneumonia; Idenix and Novartis released positive data for a new hepatitis B drug, aimed at China; Alnylam touted a journal article supporting its RNAi technology; Santarus won FDA approval for the chewable form of its antacid Zegerid; Cubist received an approvable letter for Cubicin; Corgentech reported that its pain drug candidate failed a Phase II trial; and Omrix set the terms for its IPO. The Centient Biotech 200™ closed 22 points lower at 3973.79, a loss of .55%. More details...