Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of drug developer Furiex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FURX) soared a whopping 49% today after its new diabetes treatment alogliptin, which it is licensing to Takeda Pharmaceuticals, received U.S. regulatory approval.
So what: As a result of the approval, Furiex will now receive a $25 million milestone payment from Takeda, as well as juicy royalties based on future U.S. sales. The cash-strapped Furiex has been struggling of late to fund an ongoing phase 3 trial for its chronic diarrhea treatment MuDelta, so the news is particularly huge for the company.
Now what: Don't let today's massive surge prevent you from looking into Furiex. "Receiving regulatory approvals for NESINA, OSENI and KAZANO in the U.S. marks an important milestone for Furiex," said Furiex Chairman Fred Eshelman. "These approvals should enable Takeda to build on the success of NESINA in Japan and leverage its more than 20 years of clinical and patient experience in the type 2 diabetes therapeutic area."
So while it's not usually a good idea to buy into such a big rally, Furiex's still-smallish size, limited analyst coverage, and potent pipeline suggest that the stock has plenty of room to run over the long term.
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