Mark Cifra's  Instablog

            There seems to be a lot of speculation on the chances of Spectrum Pharma(SPPI) being acquired over the coming months. I personally don't think it will happen, but there are a few companies that could be interested. Bayer will always be mentioned because of the fact they sell Zevalin in Europe, but Bayer did just divest two oncology drugs to Genzyme(GENZ), Fludara and Leukine, which makes me think that oncology is not where they want to focus their company. Allergan(AGN) should also be mentioned because of their partnership of bladder cancer drug EOquin with Spectrum, the drug is in phase three trials. If AGN really believes the drug is a winner, then why not try to own 100 percent.  
          Then there are companies like Onyx(ONXX), Abraxis Bioscience(ABII) and OSI Pharma(OSIP) who have an solid oncology drug on the market, but have struggled to get a second oncology drug thru their pipeline and on to FDA approval. Then there are companies like Cephalon(CEPH) and Genzyme who have been very agressive in in-licensing drugs or acquiring oncology drugs and companies. Or how about companies like Seattle Genetics(SGEN) or Regeneron Pharma(REGN) who have late stage oncology drugs in their pipeline who could use SPPI salesforce to jumpstart  the transition into a commercial stage biotech.   
           When I do my due diligence on Spectrum, I have to admit  it does remind me of MGI Pharma and Pharmion, two specialty pharmas with a focus on oncology, both ended up being acquired by  large companies, MGI by Japanese powerhouse Eisai and Pharmion by US biotech giant Celgene. I can also remember when investors didn't think much of those companies. I personally would rather see Spectrum stay independent and try to really build a nice oncology based specialty pharma. I think there is more money to be made this way then by getting lucky with an acquisition.
Long SPPI          

Is it just me or does it seem like the good old days of biotech are back. With monster moves from Dendreon (DNDN) and Map Pharma (MAPP)  based on positive phase 3 data, buyouts of IDM Pharma (IDMI) by Takeda and Cougar Biotech (CGRB) by JNJ and FDA approvals for Vanda Pharma (VNDA) and United Therapeutics (UTHR),  it looks like a goodtime to start buying ahead of important newsflow.    &nbs...
One stock that I think has the potential to move higher is Viropharma (VPHM)... June 3, 2009 the FDA is scheduled to make a decision whether or not to approve Viropharma's orph... Cinryze for acute  attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE). Now in October of 2008, Cinryze was  approved for routine prophylaxis (prevention) against HAE attacks in adults and adolescents, which I believe makes the chances for approval in acute setting of HAE much more probable. One other point that makes this approval even more important is the fact that the orphan drug status that Cinryze would carry with FDA approval would also keep a competing drug from CSL Behring off the market for seven years, the length of time a companies benefits from orphan drug status . Thats why I'm looking for 10 a share with approval, but back to 5 with a non approval.  
The author is long VPHM

Now that first quarter earnings are finally over and all the companies I follow have finally reported their numbers, I decided to breakdown those companies whose reports stood out because of stockprice movement. 
The good: large cap biotech giants Gilead Sciences (GILD)  and Amgen (AMGN) reported good numbers and their stockprices responded well, GILD up 2.49 and AMGN up 3.01,   Human Genome Sciences (HGSI)  rebounded  well from  the March 9th  release of  phase 3  Albuferon data  as HGSI  added .80 or almost 50 percent,  Acorda (ACOR) also rebounded well from their March 31 NDA disappointment and soared  3.31, this time the FDA accepted their NDA. Some others, Biomarin (BMRN)+.83, United Therapeutics (UTHR) +2.54,  and AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG) +4.15.  
The bad: large cap biotechs Biogen Idec (BIIB)  and Genzyme (GENZ)  shed 1.40 and 3.16 respectly, Cougar Biotechnology (CGRB) got hit for 1.96, that sure wasn't a sign of things to come as JNJ offered to buy them out on Friday. Some others with a bad reaction to earnings, OSI Pharma (OSIP) down 1.37, Cephalon (CEPH) down 1.30, Auxilium Pharma (AUXL) down 1.58 and Allergan (AGN) down 2.87.
The ugly: large cap oncology giant Celgene (CELG) kicked the first quarter pre-announcements off with a disaster, lowering full year numbers and the stock followed suit shedding 5.93, Myriad Genetics (MYGN) missed revenue estimates and finished down 4.04, and ugliest of them all, on the day Sequenom (SQNM) released their first quarter report, they reported significant matieral issues with their SEQureDX Trisomy 21 test,  SQNM finished down 11.29 or 76 percent.
Disclosure: long MYGN