Biogen
NEWS
As Biogen turns 40 years old, some biotech insiders and analysts seem to be concerned that the Boston-based pharmaceutical company has too many eggs in one developmental basket.
It may not seem like it, but biotech stocks are actually up over the past year. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is up about 4%--nothing to write home about, but hardly a disastrous performance.
This year’s American Academy of Neurology meeting in Los Angeles has revealed positive news that can benefit patients across a wide variety of indications.
Biogen saw a strong first quarter with 11 percent growth in revenues to $3.1 billion, which were spurred by gains in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatment Spinraza and multiple sclerosis treatment Tecfidera.
Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals are up more than 10 percent in premarket trading after Biogen handed over $1 billion to support a new 10-year collaboration agreement to develop novel antisense drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.
Switzerland-based Novartis is buying Bannockburn, Illinois-based AveXis for $8.7 billion. This could spell big trouble for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen.
Yet another Alzheimer’s drug has failed in late-stage clinical trials. vTv Therapeutics’ azeliragon failed to meet either co-primary efficacy endpoint in its Phase III STEADFAST clinical trial. It was being evaluated in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s no secret that drugmakers have struggled to develop a therapeutic to treat or halt the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple drugs have failed in late-stage trials and some companies, such as Pfizer, have largely given up on the space.
Novartis has struck a deal to acquire AveXis for $8.7 billion. Novartis will pay $218 per share, which is a 72 percent premium over AveXis’s 30-day volume-weighted average stock price.
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