Labopharm partner loses tramadol patent appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that Purdue Pharma Products’ patent claims for controlled-release tramadol, a pain medication, are invalid.  Purdue distributes Labopharm’s (TSX:DDS; NASDAQ:DDSS) tramadol drug Ryzolt in the U.S. Generic drug maker Par Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PRX) had argued that the patent claims should be deemed invalid because they were [...]

Protox lands licensing deal in Japan

Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) has signed a potential $75 million (U.S.) licence agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize Protox’s PRX302 drug in Japan for the treatment of enlarged prostate, prostate cancer and other diseases of the prostate. Under the accord, Protox will receive an upfront payment of $3 million and is eligible to receive [...]

Analysts cut Labopharm price targets on marketing deal

After weighing the pros and cons of Labopharm’s joint venture marketing accord with Italy’s Gruppo Angelini, Dundee Securities and Versant Partners cut their price targets on “buy-rated” Labopharm (TSX: DDS; NASDAQ: DDSS), with Dundee moving the target down to $2.40 from $3 and Versant down to $2.50 from $3. Dundee analyst David Martin cited “increased [...]

Versant starts iCo at “buy”

Versant Partners has initiated coverage of iCo Therapeutics (TSX-Venture:ICO) with a “buy” rating and 12-month price target of $1.80.  The shares closed Monday at 59 cents. iCo is an early-stage drug developer focused on in-licensing preclinical or Phase 1 drugs targeting ocular diseases.  Its lead antisense drug iCo-007 is in Phase 1/2 testing for diabetic [...]

Versant points to partnering potential at GeneNews

Versant Partners likes the “performance metrics” of GeneNews’ ColonSentry test for colorectal cancer and figures it “could be attractive to cash-contributing partners,” particularly those well-positioned to act on a U.S. regulatory strategy. “Multiple industry players like Gen-Probe or Genomic Health, or lab services giants like Quest or LabCorp, could benefit from an expanded test offering [...]