Multiple sclerosis drugs seen gaining traction

By Russ Britt, MarketWatch

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) After a number of false starts, drugs used as therapies for the once-untreatable, debilitating disease multiple sclerosis are gaining traction in pharmaceutical labs, and are beginning to catch the eye of Wall Street.

The latest development came Wednesday, when the New England Journal of Medicine published two studies online that said a new drug, known as BG-12, that Biogen Idec Inc. /quotes/zigman/91573/quotes/nls/biib BIIB +0.66% is developing was deemed effective in preventing relapses of MS in a Phase III study.

In those trials, the publication said, BG-12 significantly reduced the number of patients who had a relapse, the relapse rate and the rate at which patients became disabled as well as the number of lesions found in MRIs on the brain and spinal cord.

The findings did little to boost Biogen Idec shares Thursday, though the stock was up marginally in early trading Thursday. Analysts, however, are saying that the drug could help the companys product pipeline down the road.

Shares of Biogen Idec have nearly doubled since hitting a 52-week low of $88.64 on Oct. 3.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee said in a note to clients that he favors Gilead Sciences Inc. /quotes/zigman/72849/quotes/nls/gild GILD +0.16% as our highest-conviction large-cap in the near term, given specific catalysts.

However, for longer-term investors, Yee singled out Biogen Idec as having the best pipeline in large-cap biotech.

It will take months before BG-12 can have an impact on Biogen Idecs bottom line. The drug has yet to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and then it may take some time after that before it will hit pharmacies. But the FDA needs to make a call on approval by years end.

The Journal found several side effects from the oral medication, including nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, as well as some liver damage. The drug also increased the vulnerability of immune systems, the Journal said.

Here is the original post:
Multiple sclerosis drugs seen gaining traction