By Val Brickates Kennedy
Most drug stocks fell Monday with the broader market on news of an Obama Administration plan for the auto industry that could eventually include bankruptcy filings for General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index fell nearly 1% to 240 and the Amex Biotechnology Index fell 3.4% to 628. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently fell 3.5% to 7504.98.
Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) shares fell $1.31, or 3.9% at $32.44. On Sunday, Lilly reported inconclusive results from a mid-stage clinical trial for its new schizophrenia medication mGlu2/3. Despite the setback, Lilly plans to pursue further testing of the compound, which it says carries fewer negative side effects than other antipsychotic leading medications.
Lilly already markets one of the most widely-prescribed antipsychotic therapies, Zyprexa.
Shares of Merck & Co. (MRK) fell 2.6% to $26.46 while its merger partner Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) was off 2% to $23.69.
According to a report in the Financial Times over the weekend, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is seeking "concessions" from Merck and Schering-Plough in exchange for not interfering with their proposed merger. J&J and Schering-Plough co-market the lucrative rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade through a joint venture. J&J also reportedly has rights to a successor compound to Remicade called golimumab.
Share of J&J (JNJ) fell 13 cents to $52.70.
Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) tumbled 24% to $3.43 after reporting Phase III clinical data for its anti-obesity drug. While the data was largely positive, Dow Jones Newswires reports it might not be robust enough to win favor with U.S. regulators.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) broke from the downward trend, with shares up 1.3% to $47.22.
Over the weekend, Abbott reported that its new drug-coated stent Xience V was shown to be more effective in a long-term study than the market leader, Boston Scientific Corp.'s (BSX) Taxus. Boston Scientific also markets the Xience stent, under the brand name Promus.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Fla.
-Val Brickates Kennedy; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
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