Biotech Clovis Oncology (CLVS) plummeted to a two-year low in early trading Monday after the FDA said it wanted more data showing its cancer drug candidate worked before approving it. Meanwhile, major pharma AstraZeneca (AZN) rose after its competing drug won approval three months ahead of schedule. Both Clovis’ drug rociletinib and AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) target a subgroup of lung-cancer patients with epidermal growth factor
Biotech ZS Pharma (ZSPH) popped to a new high Friday after it agreed to be bought by British drug giant AstraZeneca (AZN) for $2.7 billion. AstraZeneca will pay $90 a share in cash, a 42% premium on ZS Pharma’s Thursday closing price. AstraZeneca’s press release touted ZS Pharma’s drug ZS-9, a treatment for high potassium in the blood associated with kidney disease and heart failure. AstraZeneca said that peak annual sales of ZS-9, which is
The market is still in a correction, which means that it’s not the best time to buy; but it never hurts to keep an eye on some top performers, such as these hot drugmakers on the IBD 50. Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) said at the start of the month that it will shell out $445 million in a psoriasis drug licensing deal with AstraZeneca (AZN). The drug candidate, brodalumab, may be effective, but AstraZeneca’s old partner Amgen (AMGN) nixed the