Small drug company Indevus
But the past is the past and Indevus has come a long way in recent years. While you may not know it from the lack of movement in the stock price, Indevus has had a very good week. This past Friday, the FDA gave the thumbs up to its drug Sanctura, which is now on the market for the treatment of overactive bladder. It was a bit odd that despite the great news the stock was down 4% on a whopping 13 million shares traded. More than 25% of the outstanding shares swapped hands on Friday and that's mind-boggling. Maybe approval was priced in or there were tons of folks selling on the news. Or maybe only the cancer drugs spike stocks on good news.
As I wrote back in April, Indevus was to receive a $120 million milestone payment from its marketing partner Pliva upon approval of Sanctura. Yesterday, the company announced that it has received the payment. I find it interesting that this slug of cash alone is about one-third of the company's market cap, yet the market's response to this expected announcement was again ho-hum as the stock was down another 4%.
From my perspective it's best to ignore the daily fluctuations and focus on the emergence of a company that is potentially on the verge of becoming a self-sustaining operation. Sanctura presents the opportunity to transition from a cash-burning R&D stage company to a fully integrated, profitable drug developer. I think the sales ramp for Sanctura over the coming quarters is certainly worth watching.
As a final thought, the Fools over on the Indevus board are itching to discuss the company's good fortune and their future prospects so go pay them a visit! Or check out the Biotechnology discussion board for thoughts on all things biotech.
Fool contributor Charly Travers does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.