Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) rival Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) reported success in the Define Phase III clinical trial of its oral multiple sclerosis drug BG-12, a competitor's of Teva's Laquinimod. A 240-milligram dose of BG-12 administered two or three times a day significantly reduced the proportion of patients who relapsed by 49% and 50%, respectively, after two years compared with a placebo.
Biogen's share price rose 7.1% on Friday in response to the news to $108.84, giving a market cap of $26.4 million. Teva's share price rose 1.7% to $39.16, giving a market cap of $34.9 billion, and rose by 0.8% at the opening on the TASE today to NIS 145.
"BG-12 may be a valuable treatment option for MS patients, combining strong efficacy, a favorable safety profile and oral administration,” said Dr. Ralf Gold pf St. Josef-Hospital/Ruhr-University at Bochum, Germany. “Preclinical research has shown that BG-12 has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. If the clinical responses seen in Define are replicated in its second Phase 3 trial, BG-12 has the potential to provide a new approach to treating multiple sclerosis and be an important step forward for patients."
Capital market analysts expected that the Define trial results would be similar to the earlier Confirm clinical trial, and that they would affect Teva. Analysts said that positive results could boost Biogen's by up to 10%, and negative results could cause it to plunge by up to 20%, and that the results would have a converse affect on Teva's share.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 23, 2011
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