We have included some basic color and news, as well as relative volume and the price moves where applicable.  Closing prices are snapshots right at 4:00 PM EST so these may be different from official closing prices posted after 4:30.

AEterna Zentaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) was up after the FDA approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for doxorubicin targeted conjugate compound called AEZS-108 as a treatment to fight bladder cancer.  Shares closed up 14% at an unofficial closing price of $2.09 on over 21 million shares.  That is 7-times normal volume and the 52-week range is $0.75 to $3.25.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) released additional preliminary data on a Phase 1b ACH-1625 trial in hepatitis C treatments.  Shares closed up 12.3% at $2.65 on right at 1 million shares.  Average volume is 222K and the 52-week range is $1.10 to $3.89.

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) posted a strong recovery after having been lower on losses and job cuts.  Shares were up over 17% at $6.27 right at the bell.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) looked like its names was Momentum Pharmaceuticals more than anything.  We saw over 500,000 shares trade and the unofficial closing bell price was up 11% at $13.85.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) was also up in a mystery move… Shares were up almost 12% at $2.90 on actually light trading volume of 309,000 shares.  A seller’s strike.

OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) was up 12% at $1.00 in a late day move after yesterday’s earnings report.

Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNX) rose and rose throughout the trading day.  What is odd is that there was a seller’s strike.  No sellers showed up for trading today.  There were only 118,000 shares traded at the 4PM close and the stock was up 11.7% at $6.12.  The 52-week range is $3.53 to $7.00.

Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is of course in the testing space rather than in biotech… Its stock held up extremely well considering how deep of a discount it got a private placement off.  It raised more than $50 million in a private placement.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) was up ahead of a presentation next week with a company overview and business update.  Shares closed up 14.8% at $4.02 on 901,000 shares.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) was up again after yesterday’s late-day big bullish options trade.  Shares closed up 2.4% at $12.40 on almost 5.5 million shares.

Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ: VICL) was trading higher on word that its cancer drug showed promise in mid-stage trial results of Allovecton-7.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Included today is the news, the related share move, performance and valuation data, and added in additional market color where applicable.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) is now up even more because of a Mike Huckman tout on CNBC.  The gain is due to the board member resignation of Joseph Klein III, a member of the board since June 2005, with disagreements over matters such as a poison pill and other issues.  This has some thinking of a takeover.  Shares were up 5% before the tout, but shares are now up 7.5% at $24.73 on 2.4 million shares.  Average volume is 1.34 million shares and the new 52-week high was hit today of $24.99.

CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) is up today after it managed to turn in a profit of $25.2 million during the Q4-2009 period and after it is focusing its R&D efforts.  Shares are up just over 10% at $1.39 on 6.9 million shares.  We saw a high of $1.53 today and the 52-week range is $0.49 to $2.60.  Average volume is only 2.2 million shares.

Electro-Optical Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: MELA) is not a biotech but may play a key role in melanoma down the road.  It is down after the company has received additional questions from the FDA over the pre-market approval application of the MelaFind device for early melanoma detection.  The long and short is that the FDA said that its application is not currently approvable and the FDA has now extended the review by up to 180 days. Shares are down 22% at $7.07, but we had seen a low of $6.43 earlier this morning.  There have now been more than 3 million shares traded and average volume is only about 260,000 shares.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is feeling the wrath of the markets again after yesterday’s FDA action on the Allston plant.  This morning, its shares were Downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan.  The beatings will continue until morale improves! Shares are down 7.4% at $51.21 and we have seen 9.9 million shares trade hands versus an average of 2.8 million shares.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) was awarded FDA approval for Xifaxan 550mg tablets for the risk reduction of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence in patients aged 18 and higher.  This is expected to add to sales of the drug.  Shares are off highs of $38.00 earlier with a gain of 8.85% at $36.49 on 4.55 million shares in late morning.  Average volume is about 1.4 million, but this marks a new 52-week high with anything above $34.38.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) is up after last night’s announcement that ondansetron RapidFilm(TM) received approval in 16 European countries.  This is a serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist commonly used to treat and prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.  The company expects these EU approvals to support efforts to gain regulatory approval in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Macau.  Shares are up 11.4% at $4.11 on 1.6 million shares.  Average volume is only 450,000 shares and the 52-week trading range is $1.21 to $5.33; its market cap is only $194 million and the company is now profitable.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) is up again on no news, but this is ahead of its planned 4 million share secondary offering which should price today after the close.  Our bet is that the 4 million shares is more like 4.5 million or maybe even 5 million shares.  This is rare to hear, but this is actually a good version of dilution as it adds much-needed growth capital.  Shares are up 6.4% at $9.83 on 8 million shares.

Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) may be on its way for a dividend payment and may still be on the way to becoming the next great emerging drug company.  But its news from yesterday about it closing the former P&G office in Ohio as part of the 2009 acquisition has at least some of the bulls questioning its growth.  This will send 163 American workers to the weekly jobless claims line.  The Irish pharma stock is down 4.4% at $25.54 on over 2 million shares.  Average volume is 1.4 million shares and the 52-week trading range is $9.64 to $29.24.

The new short interest data for short sellers is out showing the March 15 settlement date versus the February 26 date.  Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) was the largest outright change and Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) shows part of what caused the recovery… short covering.  The full short interest data is here from BioHealthInvestor.com.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FOLD) is hitting 52-week lows on its type 1 Gaucher disease treatment disappointment.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is trading up over 13% after the company has reportedly up for sale.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) are both higher despite Goldman Sachs dropping FITB in favor of COF for its Conviction Buy List.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN) is down 7% but not as bad as it could have been after dropping its Phase 2 trial evaluating RP101 for late-stage pancreatic cancer.

Trident Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: TRID) is surging on higher guidance and an NXP combination of their digital TV and Set-Top box businesses.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is up over 4% on the Goldman Sachs upgrade.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for reminders of the top day trader alerts, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG
October 5, 2009

Amgen Inc’s (Nasdaq: AMGN)’s osteoporosis drug did so well in a head-to-head Phase III trial vs. the current standard drug from Novartis Inc. (NYSE:  NVS) that the Amgen’s drug may become the new standard for patients with breast cancer.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN), along with partners Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Alkermes Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKS), announced its new drug application for a once-weekly version of Byetta will be reviewed by the FDA, which may  help invigorate growth for the franchise.

Vical Inc. (Nasdaq: VICL) announced a positive four-month interim analysis for what is arguably its second-largest market opportunity, taking potentially another small step toward the goal of attracting a partner for its herpes vaccine program.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SCLN) shares are down more than 7 percent on revenue and secondary offering fears. And Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) shares are falling after another dilutive offering.

Also, see our in-depth feature this week on five of the fastest-growing biotechs with improving analyst estimates: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: FOLD), Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: HALO), American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. (NYSE: AOB), and Stemcells Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM).

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team