Pre-market: Novacea gets $60 million
San Francisco-based Novacea Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVC) received $60 million from a licensing agreement for its prostate cancer drug from Schering-Plough Corp., the company announced this morning. It could receive as much as $380 million in pre-commercial milestone payments and royalties for its orally-administered prostate cancer drug Asentar. The stock is up $0.69, or 7%, to $10.20.
Shares of Progen Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: PGLA) are rising following news this morning that the Australian company’s Phase III clinical trial of a liver cancer drug will allow for a potentially faster and more cost effective trial with a higher likelihood of success than previously reported. The stock is up $0.05, or 1%, to $3.60.
Oklahoma City-based maker of titanium dioxide pigment Tronox Inc. (NYSE: TRX) reported this morning that production difficulties at a plant in the Netherlands, challenging market dynamics and a tax charge will adversely impact its second quarter financial results, which will be announced on Aug. 1. Shares are down $0.83, or 6%, to $13.65.
Shares of Geron Corp. (Nasdaq: GERN) are higher on news this morning that the Menlo Park, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company has initiated a clinical trial of a cancer vaccine. The stock is up $0.20, or 2%, to $8.30.
Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISPH) will move its nasal spray for the treatment of allergic rhinitis into a Phase III clinical trial following a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Durham, N.C.-based company announced this morning. Shares are up $0.04, or 1%, to $5.90.
Shares of Cell Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CTIC) are in positive territory following news this morning that the Seattle-based company announced positive results from a trail of its treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The stock is up $0.25, or 6%, to $4.61.
