In this video, Motley Fool health-care analyst David Williamson takes a look at Celsion Corp (CLSN) and Celladon (NASDAQ: CLDN) as today's two winners in the health-care space, and he also discusses some bad news for Amarin (AMRN 1.72%).
Celsion has announced that it received FDA approval for its phase 3 trial of its drug Thermodox. The drug bombed in an earlier phase 3 trial, but the company is arguing that patients who had radiofrequency ablation for 45 minutes or more saw a tangible benefit from the drug. Shares are up about 5%, though the company will still have to prove its theory in the clinical trial, which is far from certain.
The recent biotech IPO Celladon saw shares shoot up as much as 50% today, after announcing a deal with Servier for its diabetes and neurodegenerative disease drug, which is still in the preclinical phase. Stifel also initiated coverage of the newly public company with a buy recommendation, which was another catalyst today for shares. David advises, however, that with the drug in question still only in the preclinical phase, this stock only makes the watchlist for him at the moment.
And finally, Amarin is today's loser, though not in the traditional sense, as shares were up today. However, the company did not get new chemical entity, or NCE, status granted for its drug Vascepa. This would have granted the drug two extra years of exclusivity and is certainly a loss, but with the current low sales, the threat of generic competition isn't imminent. David tells investors in the video the key factor to watch that will be tied to Vascepa's ultimate fate.
