Genentech's
The company didn't release full details but said that the trial testing Avastin in combination with a chemotherapy such as Abraxis Bioscience's
Avastin is already approved to treat breast cancer, but Genentech needed the data to satisfy the Food and Drug Administration -- which gave it an accelerated approval pending the outcome of this trial and the Avado trial, which has already come back positive. If this trial hadn't met its primary endpoints, the drug could have followed the same fate as AstraZeneca's
Will the results help persuade Roche to up its bid for Genentech and get the deal done that's been dragging for four months now? There's certainly a little less risk involved now, but, without knowing why the negotiations have stalled, it's a little hard to know what it's going to take to get the deal done.
Even with the jump in price yesterday, Genentech is still trading below where it was before Roche announced its intentions to acquire Genentech. There's at least one company that thinks Genentech is worth $89 per share; I'm surprised that investors haven't followed suit.
More Foolishness:
- Contrary to popular belief, we're not all doomed.
- Johnson & Johnson got a bloody good deal.
- Could a recession actually be good for this company?