Biotech day traders tend to focus on Food and Drug Administration approvals as their binary event of choice because the decisions are usually handed down on or around the company's PDUFA date.
But clinical trial results can have an equally appealing result. Amarin
Here's a handful of biotechs with upcoming clinical trial results.
Little now, big later
Exelixis
Cabozantinib blocks the MET and VEGF pathways that are involved in tumor growth in multiple tumor types. In addition to medullary thyroid cancer, cabozantinib is in clinical trials for prostate, ovarian, and other cancers that could easily make the drug a blockbuster.
Four trumps three
The phase 3 trials for Gilead Sciences'
The quad pill is important for Gilead because it owns all four drugs in the cocktail unlike Atripla, which combines two of its drugs with Bristol-Myers Squibb's
Sneak peek
Final results for Medivation's
Unlike Gilead's trial, where the company knows when the last patient entered the trial and therefore when the last patient will receive his or her 48-week follow-up, the trial for MDV3100 is events driven. The readout will occur after a certain number of deaths. Medivation says "data from the interim analysis could potentially be available in 2011." That's as close as you're going to get.
Ironically, the longer the data is delayed, the better it may be -- assuming, of course, the delay isn't because the control group is living longer than expected.
Waiting it out
Vical's
The trial, which has been going on since January 2007, may finally reach the required number of deaths in the second half of the year and investors can get the answer they've been waiting so long for.
Early results
YM BioSciences
News at 11
If you'd like to follow the Fool's take as the companies release their data, click below to add them to your watchlist.
- Add Exelixis to your watchlist.
- Add Gilead to your watchlist.
- Add Medivation to your watchlist.
- Add Vical to your watchlist.
- Add YM BioSciences to your watchlist.