UPDATE: Oxford Biomedica Net Loss Narrows In 07, Shares Fall
Monday March 10th, 2008 / 15h17
By Jason Douglas Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. biotech company Oxford Biomedica PLC (OXB.LN) Monday reported a narrower full-year net loss and said it has completed patient enrollment in a late stage trial of its key development hope, the cancer vaccine TroVax. However, shares in the company, which had risen by about one-third in the past month amid speculation that French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) was mulling a takeover, fell after broker Investec advised clients to sell. The Oxford, England-based firm said its net loss for the year to Dec. 31, 2007, was GBP15.3 million, compared with a loss of GBP17.7 million in 2006. Revenue rose to GBP7.2 million from GBP0.8 million a year ago, thanks largely to the first recognized installment of the GBP25.8 million it received this year in milestone payments from Sanofi-Aventis, its partner in TroVax's development. Oxford Biomedica said it completed patient enrollment in the phase III "Trist" study of TroVax in patients with renal cancer. Results are expected in the first half of 2009. It said a second phase III TroVax study in colorectal cancer, run by Sanofi-Aventis, is scheduled to start shortly, while mid-stage trials of experimental Parkinson's drug ProSavin, are underway in France. Investec, though, cut its recommendation on the stock from hold to sell. Shares lost 1 pence, or 3.6%, to 27 pence at 1310 GMT. Analyst Ibraheem Mahmood told Dow Jones Newswires the downgrade is effectively a technical change based on its financials and share price, but added there is still an "underlying bearish story" for Oxford Biomedica relative to some of its peers. Mahmood is concerned that although earlier studies demonstrate the vaccine produces an immune response as intended, the company has not produced enough data showing TroVax helps cancer patients survive longer. It's this "primary endpoint" of survival that it must prove in the phase III trials if it's to bring TroVax to market, something other drug developers tend to examine in smaller trials first. Despite the recent fillip from Sanofi's rumored interest, shares in Oxford Biomedica have fallen 42% in last 12 months as investors fled risky biotech stocks in favor of other sectors amid the fallout from the global credit crunch. The company also has programs in age-related macular degeneration and RNA interference, as well as other experimental cancer treatments. It said it's started commercial discussions with potential partners for Metxia, a drug candidate currently in phase II trials for pancreatic cancer. Company Web site: http://www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; jason.douglas@dowjones.com
Sanofi-Aventis est le 1er groupe pharmaceutique europ éen. Le CA par famille de produits se répartit comme suit :
- produits pharmaceutiques (89,6%)...
