Business argot, then translation
I read the following big-pharma stock market update without comprehending a word of it. In fact, as soon as I realized the subject matter was financial, I broke out into a cold sweat and my face started to melt.
Thank goodness Business Week digested it and then regurgitated it in a language even I can sort of understand.
(RTTNews) – Targacept (TRGT | charts | news | PowerRating) revealed Wednesday that AstraZeneca (AZN | charts | news | PowerRating) decides to continue development of AZD3480 in Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The company stated that under this collaboration deal it would receive $20 million Payment from AstraZeneca. The company noted that this announcement follows the finalization by AstraZeneca of previously disclosed studies of AZD3480. Targacept climbed in early trading Wednesday, but lost momentum and saw little movement through mid-day. The stock has, however, climbed further in the last few minutes. The stock is higher by $2.25 at $9.69 on the year’s heaviest volume and is trading at a new historic high. Previous to today’s move, the stock had been range-bound since early November./ Copyright(c) 2006 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Translation after the jump.
From Business Week:
Targacept to get $20 million milestone
Biotech drug developer Targacept Inc. said Wednesday that it will get a $20 million milestone payment from British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC with the continued development of an Alzheimer’s disease treatment.
Targacept shares rose $1.82, or 24.5 percent, to $9.26 in morning trading on the Nasdaq, after setting a new 52-week high of $9.75 earlier in the session. The stock’s previous year high of $9 was set in April.
The agreement covers the development of drug candidate AZD3480 to treat Alzheimer’s and cognitive deficits caused by schizophrenia. The milestone payment was triggered when AstraZeneca decided to continue developing the drug.
Targacept originally received an upfront payment of $10 million from AstraZeneca, and stands to receive up to $249 million in payment under the agreement, along with double-digit royalties.
The company also expects a total of about $26.4 million in development funding from AstraZeneca over four years.
American depositary shares of AstraZeneca rose 27 cents to $53.85 on the New York Stock Exchange.
liz | 2:49 PM | Uncategorized
Was going to float off into the new year in a lingerie stupor and now this. What is interesting though is the early stated indication to try and use the drug in dementia AND schizophrenia rather than tacitly supporting the off label use of psychotropics in dementia (witness your recent postings about AZ’s Zyprexa drug reps).
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