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Drug stocks up; Merck gains on diabetes drug news
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks finished the day in the red Tuesday, despite gains by Merck following the release of a positive study for its diabetes-drug candidate, Januvia.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Indexedged down 0.3% to 320.26 and the Amex Biotechnology Index retracted 0.8% to 634.92, after trading higher earlier in the day.
Index component Merck closed up almost 1% at $33.66. The drugmaker said Januvia was as effective as the popular diabetes drug glipizide, also known as Glucotrol, in reducing blood-sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients taking Januvia also lost weight on the drug, the study showed. See full story.
Merck unveiled the results at the annual scientific meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
German drugmaker Bayer had a bad day, sliding over 5% to $38.21. The conglomerate said Tuesday that it is willing to pay more than the $21 billion it had previously offered to buy Schering AG . Bayer made the announcement after news that fellow German drug company Merck KGaA had closed on a almost 21% block stake in Schering. Merck KGaA had also bid for Schering. See full story.
NPS Pharmaceuticals was up 3% at $4.69. The company said Monday that it was eliminating 53% of its workforce as part of a major restructuring, which includes discontinuing plans to commerci hopped 3% to $4.70. The stem-cell researcher said it signed an agreement to with Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit to study whether stem cells derived from umbilical-cord blood can be used to treat cardiac disease.