Shares of Nuvelo Inc. (NUVO) plummeted 80% to $3.97 before the opening bell Monday after the company and partner Bayer AG (BAY) said a Phase III clinical trial of its blood clot dissolving drug didn't meet its primary endpoint.
The drug, alfimeprase, used for treatment of thrombotic, or clot-related disorders, didn't meet its primary endpoint of avoidance of open vascular surgery within 30 days of treatment in patients with acute peripheral arterial occlusion, known as "leg attack," the company said Monday.
The companies also suspended enrollment in two other Phase III trials.
"While Nuvelo did not say exactly why the trials failed, we believe that it is safe to assume that there was almost nothing encouraging about the results of the trials," Brean Murray says, adding it expects deal with Bayer to dissolve.
Nuvelo and Bayer HealthCare have a global collaboration for the development of alfimeprase, whereby Bayer would bring it to market outside the U.S. and will pay Nuvelo tiered royalties, and Nuvelo retains marketing rights in the U.S.
American Depositary Shares of Bayer had yet to trade.
Shares of travel-booking company Sabre Holdings Corp. (TSG) rose 11% to $31.30 on news reports that the company is up for sale and could be sold to a new buyer as early as this week, at a premium to its $3.75 billion market capitalization.
Private-equity groups were viewed as the most likely purchasers of Sabre, the reports said. Citing people involved in the negotiations, The New York Times said the bidding group favored to win the auction includes Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group, while a rival bidding group is led by Apollo Group. The people involved in the talks said a third group of investors is also considering a bid, the Times said.
Shares of Biomet Inc. (BMET) rose 4.8% to $41.80 after a newspaper report said British company Smith & Nephew Ltd.(SN.LN) will this week make a GBP5 billion offer for the company, in an attempt to to create the world's fourth-largest orthopedic implants maker.
Biomet in effect put itself up for sale in April when it appointed Morgan Stanley (MS) to advise on strategic options, The Independent, a U.K. daily, said on its Web site.
Shares of DuPont Co. (DD) rose 0.7% to $47.25, after the company lifted its fourth-quarter outlook. DuPont also said it would close or change manufacturing processes at 10 of its sites and cut about 1,500 jobs worldwide.
DuPont now anticipates 2006 earnings of $3.25 a share, up from a previous outlook of $2.86 a share. The company said it would list additional benefits in the fourth quarter, including about $60 million from insurance payments from asbestos litigation and Hurricane Katrina-related claims and $500 million from tax adjustments.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial presently forecast 2006 earnings, on average, of $2.88 a share.
Shares of DirectTV Group Inc. (DTV) rose 2.1% in pre-market trading to $24.80, after Deutsche Bank upped its rating on the company to buy, saying the digital television service provider is best positioned to take advantage of high-definition TV and will benefit from becoming part of the Liberty Media Corp. empire.
Shares of Cepheid (CPHD) rose 5.4% to $9.49 after the company received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market its Smart GBS test for Group B Streptococcus on its SmartCycler platform.
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