Array BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) is the biggest winner so far on a $467 million drug pact that was an alternative to a merger.  Shares have held up rather well and the stock is up 35% at $4.09 on almost 16 million shares.  Shares hit $4.25 today and the 52-week high is $4.65.

BioDelivery Services International Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI) is one of the worst performers in the BioHealth space due to its raising $10 million in a registered direct offering from institutional investors.  Shares are down over 14% at $3.61 on over 2 million shares of stock.  The market cap is a mere $76 million and the average volume here is only about 90,000 shares.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is one of the few situations where a Carl Icahn movement needs to actually work out.  The stock is down today, but just marginally, after the TYSABRI drug maker for MS said its profit fell on charges despite Tysabri sales having risen.  Shares are down 1.9% at $53.74 and we have not quite yet seen the 2.6 million shares hit on an average day.

Biosante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is trading up again today.  Yesterday’s news was that it will present and separately participate in a cancer immunotherapy panel discussion at the World Vaccine Congress.  Shares are up 5.8% at $2.00 on what is already triple volume after 1.8+ million shares have traded hands.

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR) is up after its Bafetinib received a positive opinion from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products in the European Union indication for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia or CML.  Shares are up 9.7% at $1.13 on over 6 million shares mid-afternoon, which is already about 8-times normal volume if they closed the market now. Its market cap is $123 million and the 52-week trading range is $0.35 to $1.72.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is in trouble, and frankly it is lucky the fallout is not worse.  The company’s GlaxoSmithKline-partner study of topline 76-week results of its Phase III trial of Benlysta in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus actually failed to meet a secondary endpoint.  The primary endpoint is still met, but this is a disappointment.  Shares are down 6% at $29.60 on more than 22 million shares.  The 52-week range is $1.16 to $34.49 and the average volume is a more 3.1 million shares.

Neuralstem, Inc. (AMEX: CUR) is up on what may be no fixed news other than outside commentary.  Shares are up over 20% at $2.75 and the trading volume is very high with well over 2 million shares having traded hands.

Prana Biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRAN) played more profit taking after yesterday’s large run up followed by profit taking.  Shares closed up 78% at $2.41 yesterday but had been as high as $3.35 after showing some Alzheimer’s Disease effects reversed in some study presentations.  The stock is down another 15% at $2.05 today on over 2.3 million shares.

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JON C. OGG

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACUR) is higher before Thursday’s FDA advisory panel is set to discuss the drug company’s lead candidate, called Acurox, which is for pain relief.  Shares are up 45% at $8.50 on over 1.4 million shares.  The market is listed now as $369 million.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is surprisingly soft and quiet considering that this morning was its earnings, and its losses narrowed on narrower expenses.  Shares are down 2.3% at $21.24 on 2.7 million shares, which is barely 60% of a full day’s trading volume.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is up, while Elan Corp. plc (NYSE: ELN) is down after Elan said it is considering spinning off its drug delivery operations.  Elan is down 2.8% at $7.50 and Biogen Idec is up 2.1% at $54.78.

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX) is rising after the company released data that it plans to resubmit its new drug application for OFIRMEV pain shot.  The stock is up 14% at $10.48 on 1.2 million shares (over 3-times normal volume).

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC) looks to be up on block volume besides chat room discussions.  Shares are up 4.9% at $2.78 on over 11 million shares of stock, which is so far the most volume since Feb. 17 when it traded 13.8 million shares.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is down after its partner Novartis withdrew its European Medicines Agency application for approval of JOULFERON for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.  Shares are down 3% at $31.43 on over 3.4 million shares.

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPI) is running higher in recovery after debt discussions last week after shares fell each day after an almost 200% gain on Tuesday.  Shares are up 13.7% at $2.57 on 1 million shares.  This is more evidence of continued trader interest back and forth more than breaking news or breaking rumors.

Prana Biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRAN) is acting like the next ten-bagger chase after positive Alzheimer’s data, the difference being that is over reversal of the effects rather than delay of effects.  Shares were up over 100% earlier before coming off highs.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: RNN) is down today after last week’s gains.  This may be profit taking, but TheStreet.com says there are “holes galore in Serdaxin data.”  Shares are down 15% at $2.41 on almost 5 million shares.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is up after its launch of the new MassARRAY Analyzer 4, with the capability for quantitative gene expression analysis, epigenetic nucleic acid methylation analysis as well as high-throughput genotyping and SNP fine mapping applications.  Shares are up 3.6% at $6.01 on over 8.3 million shares.

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JON C. OGG

We have included the news summaries, price reactions, and have given some added color on each where applicable.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) is trading up and recovering some of its losses from the peak of the last year after it announced that Dr. Friedman will present additional data demonstrating that pimavanserin was safe and well tolerated for Parkinson’s Disease psychosis at the 62nd American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting.  Shares are up 7.4% at $1.89 on 2.4 million shares.  Average volume is only 582,000 shares and the 52-week range is $0.88 to $6.60. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $1.77, up only 0.57% on over 3.9 million shares.

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: AEN) is considerably higher after it announced positive results of part 1 of its CopperProof-2 study in Alzheimer’s Disease patients and noted mild cognitive impairment.  Shares have a new 52-week high of $2.70, and the stock is up a sharp 41% at $2.15.  Even after today’s gains it has a mere $46.6 million market cap. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 24.3% at $1.89 on 10.7 million shares.

CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) is up after it announced the discovery of a novel multi-target mechanism to treat hematologic malignancies.  Shares are up 6% at $1.41 on 3.2 million shares.  The average volume is 2.5 million shares and the 52-week trading range is $0.49 to $2.60. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $1.38, up 3.76% on 4.8 million shares.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) has managed to recover and is in positive territory after the stock downgraded by Citigroup on valuation and the target is $40.00.  Shares are up 0.26% at $38.93 and the stock has traded as low as $38.17 early this morning. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $39.12, up 0.75% on 3.73 million shares.

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS) sold 4,200,000 shares of common stock at a price of $4.50 per share in a public secondary offering to receive net proceeds of about $17.6 million after fees. The funds are going to the company and it is still seeking to obtain FDA clearance of its sDNA colorectal cancer screening product.  Shares closed at $4.69 yesterday and the stock is down 3.4% at $4.53 on over 400,000 shares.  The average volume is only 173,000 shares per day and this was at $4.85 5 trading days ago. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $4.53, down 3.4% at $4.53.

InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) is hardly reacting to what looked like positive news.  The company reported that its top-line results from a Phase IIb study of Danoprevir in patients with chronic Hepatitis C were among the very best reported by any DAA compound to date.  The news sounded big but the stock reaction is muted…. up 0.67% at $48.25 on only 600,000 shares.  The 52-week range is $10.48 to $49.05, so there has already been much movement ahead of the news.  Average volume is 2.4 million shares.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $48.14, up 0.44% on only 1.3 million shares.

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPI) was the biggest winner of all on Tuesday with a gain of  over 100% as we had noted as a “chasing 10-baggers” example of biotech investors running up stocks on positive cancer news.  Shares are giving back a sharp 20% at $2.76 on continued profit taking and a rethinking of the huge move.  Two days ago this was a $1.50 stock, yet yesterday’s high was an amazing $4.49 and the 52-week range is $1.05 to $7.90.  UPDATE AT CLOSE: My-pie closed down 16% at $2.88 on 3.1 million shares.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) is recovering again from the lows today after shares dropped from over $5.80 to under $5.00 before stabilizing yesterday on news that it was revising data on its obesity drug.  Today’s gain so far is up 3.9% at $5.30 on about 450,000 shares versus and average volume of about 550,000 shares. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $5.51, up 4% on 1.29 million shares.

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) has announced that its formal earnings report will be released on April 22, 2010 after the markets closes.  This alone does not matter, but the pending Astellas hostile tender offer is April 23, 2010.  As noted last week, some trades and bets are being made that the premium above the $52.00 will not be justified in today’s prices.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $60.00, up 0.4% on only 718,000 shares.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: RNN) is trading up after it issued additional comments and some clarifications on its phase IIa study results of serdaxin in major depressive disorder.  Shares are up over 10% at $1.95 on 8.77 million shares.  The 52 week range is $0.40 to $3.68 and the average volume is just under 2 million shares. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 22% at $2.15 on almost 15.3 million shares.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) is trading higher on analyst coverage as the stock was initiated with an ‘Overweight’ rating by Thomas Weisel.  Shares are up 2.25% at $40.00 and the $40.03 high today marks a 52-week high with the new range of the last 52-weeks being $8.78 to $40.03. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed at $39.64, up 1.3% on 1.11 million shares.

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is seeing a very muted reaction to an analyst research call.  Its shares were initiated with a BUY rating at Needham with a $15.00 price target.  Shares are up a mere 0.8% at $8.94 on 2.1 million shares already in under two hours of trading; the average volume is only 2.4 million shares and the 52-week range is $3.61 to $12.88.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 2.8% at $9.12 on 4.2 million shares.

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JON C. OGG

We have outlined the news and the impact, volume and relative moves, and added in color on each where appropriate.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) is up ahead of tomorrow’s R&D day for the first time.  We outlined this in full at InvestorPlace, but the other thing to consider is a potential stock split.  Shares are up almost 1% at $63.92.

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DUSA) is a mystery move other than a large block trade, which may be enough to whip it around since average volume is barely 60,000 shares.  Shares are now up 17.7% at $2.06 on 475,000 shares.  This marks a 52-week high as well and the new 52-week range is $0.88 to $2.06.

Encorium Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENCO) continues to be a puzzle…. Shares are up 13% at $3.48 on 1.8 million shares.  This is the new micro-cap stock for day traders looking for those ten-baggers.  The market cap is a mere $11.43 million.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) is up after an analyst praised it in a “Wall Street Transcript” interview.  Shares are up 4.7% at $3.33 on 2.6 million shares (almost 150% normal volume) and the 52-week range is $0.14 to $3.56.

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP) is higher after Needham & Co. began coverage today with a BUY rating.  Shares are up 2.7% at $5.25 on 300,000 shares (over 150% normal volume).

OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) may seem boring and not worthy of coverage today on the surface.  However, Joe Kunkle of OptionsHawk.com pointed out an unusual trade in options confirming some of our concerns that the Astellas $52 offer may not ever get above the $60 price seen in the quest for a higher buyout.

We have outlined the news, volume and relative moves, and added in color on each where appropriate.

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) is up after it announces that perifosine has received an FDA Fast Track Designation for treating refractory advanced colorectal cancer.  Shares were back even above $1.00 this morning, but right before 1:00 PM EST we have 7.6 million shares traded (30X-volume) and the stock is up 21% at $0.976.

Also tied to AEZS is that its Perifosine partner is Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX), which is seeking approval for the treatment of colorectal cancer.  Keryx shares are up over 21% at $3.34 on the news.

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is still reeling from its volatility with a special shareholder meeting event coming up this Friday.  Shares were up 1% earlier and the stock is now down over 2% at $0.519 on almost 9 million shares.

Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX) is down after pre-panel FDA comments due this week on Wednesday.  Headlines crossing the tape showed “Effectivess of Forest Lung Drug Daxas ‘Quite Modest’” did not help out.  Its shares are down over 2% at $30.75 on 4.6 million shares (about 150% of normal trading volume).

MDRNA, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) is trading higher after it announced a study effort with Pfizer to focus on the evaluation of MDRNA’s proprietary di-alkylated amino acids platform and UsiRNA constructs for RNA interference.  MDRNA is up 5% at $1.25 and we have already passed the 1.2 million shares on average.  Shares hit a high of $1.31 this morning and the 52-week range is $0.65 to $3.55.

Oxigene Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) is one of our weekend cast members of The Unusual Suspects due to an analyst call looking for a 300% gain to $4.00 over the last week.  Shares are up 2.5% at $1.20 today, and this is the beginning of a long tug of war among traders deciding where the right price should be.  The 52-week range is $0.71 to $2.78.

PharmAthene, Inc. (AMEX: PIP) is soaring after it named Thomas R. Fuerst, Ph.D., as the company’s Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer.  The company is in medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, and Fuerst is a former government official. He was Director, Vaccines and Biologics (2004-2007), and Senior Science and Technology Advisor (2007-present) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  PharmAthene shares are up 13.9% at $1.64 and the 52-week range is $1.13 to $4.31.

RegeneRX Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (AMEX: RGN) is tanking today.  Shares are down 9,5% at $0.533 on 3-times normal volume of 260,000 shares today.   Thursday came the news that its accounting firm has a “going concern” notation in its report.

Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RPRX) is up after seeking a lift of the clinical hold on Proellex being developed for the treatment of uterine fibroids and endometriosis. The hold was put on back on August 4, 2009 when the FDA noted liver toxicity as a serious adverse event, although the company had suspended its Proellex studies the day before.  Shares are up 16.7% at $0.713 on 2.5 million shares.  The 52-week range is $0.61 to $8.30.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: RNN) is up on news that it submitted a Phase II protocol to the FDA for the clinical study of Serdaxin for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.  Shares are now up 14% at $1.86 on just over 2 million shares (180% of normal volume).  The 52-week trading range is $0.40 to $2.00 and the intra-day high seen was $1.94.

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) is surprisingly down on late last week’s report that its CEO would present at the Future Leaders in the Biotech Industry investment conference on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 3:30 pm ET.  Rxi is down 10% at $4.15 on over 410,000 shares traded, which is 130% of normal volume and a rather strange move.

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JON C. OGG

We are seeing key moves today in Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN), MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD), ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM), Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX), Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA), Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMEX: RNN), and Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB).

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is still halted, but an FDA Panel at the planned meeting has rejected its Pixantrone in the fight against non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  This closed at $0.91 after a late day drop on Friday going into the weekend.  At 1:40 PM EST this resumed and shares were down 67% at $0.30 on over 14 million shares by 1:41 PM EST. At 1:55 PM EST shares are down 50% at $0.45+ on over 45 million shares. Full details of the event and subsequent analysis are here.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is continuing its run.  In mid-day trading the stock is up 3.5% at $36.25, on what some are calling continued buyout chatter.  We will admit that in biotech M&A, anything is possible.  But we would also note that this company has faced more FDA hurdles than what may have been fair and any drug company taking this risk on may have a stock where an FDA approval is largely priced in and one where another FDA delay would probably take out a large amount of value versus today’s implied prices and its near-$5 billion market cap.

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) did not get the intra-day bull market memo for the market or for biotech.   Today’s action may be more on a cautious FDA on an unrelated speculative issue in CTIC rather than on anything inside of the company.  Despite a recent delay, last week its CEO said it is still seeking a 2011 Afrezza inhalable insulin launch.  We’ll see.  In mid-day trading shares are down 7.5% at $6.62 and at 2.65 million shares we have almost seen a full day’s trading volume.

ViroPharma Incorporated (Nasdaq: VPHM) is up after Jefferies raised its price target to $18 from $16 and Oppenheimer raised its price target to $19 from $15… On Friday was the announcement that the presentation of two abstracts covering Cinryze therapy at the First International Congress of the Southern European Allergy Society showed that it was effective.  Shares are up 4.9% at $14.12 in mid-day trading.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) is up almost 2% at $8.40 in mid-day trading.  There is no fresh news and this we covered in-depth this weekend as a stock to watch in our Unusual Suspects for this week.  The opportunity for its Silenor is massive if it can capitalize on the sleep-aid drug market.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) has no real fresh news today and despite it trading lower after the open shares are trading up 4.1% at $5.50.  As this is a highly volatile and highly controversial stock, we’ll only note that this is probably a trading bounce after last week’s severe drop rather than any benefit from healthcare reform.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) was another one of our Unusual Suspects over the weekend of key stocks to watch.  The healthcare reform passage is an obvious win for the huge generics maker, but the momentum is behind this one.  We still can’t help but to think this company is seeking a mega-cap status.  How many buyers rally continuously after they announce a $5 billion buyout?

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMEX: RNN) rose on a press release that the company announced the Formation of a Parkinson’s Disease scientific advisory board.  Shares were up 15% at $1.63 in mid-day trading.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was up but not significantly considering the news.  The company reached an agreement with Carl Icahn and appointed a third Icahn-backed nominee to its board of directors.  This helps it avoid a proxy fight.  Shares were up 0.9% at $60.15 late in the day.

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JON C. OGG

AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) is now up over 20% on very strong volume after the airliner obtained $2.9 billion in new financing.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is retaking its bullish proxy status and is up again by almost 4%.

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is trading lower and has now violated its key 50-day moving average that had acted as key support for the last 60 days or more.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: RNN) is surging almost 20% on cancer treatment pact with Teva Pharma…

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is not up as much as we would have guessed considering that Rochdale’s Dick Bove raised its rating.

YM BioSciences Inc. (AMEX: YMI) is up almost 20% on an approval for cancer treatment down in Mexico.

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JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009