Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) reported encouraging results from
two late-stage studies of its ceftaroline treatment for bacterial
pneumonia and said it plans to file a new drug application for the
product by the end of this year.
Dirk Thyne, president of Forest's Cerexa unit, called the
results - which met their primary objective and achieved high
clinical cure rates - "a significant development milestone" for
ceftaroline.
The compound was at the heart of why Forest Labs acquired Cerexa
2 1/2 years ago for $480 million. In addition to being a pneumonia
treatment, ceftaroline is being studied as a treatment of
complicated skin infections.
In recent trading, Forest shares were up 1.4% at $24.54.
The studies focused on treating pneumonia contracted outside of
hospitals or extended-care facilities. It put ceftaroline against
Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) antibiotic Rocephin (ceftriaxone) in those
patients requiring hospitalization.
The findings showed that ceftaroline wasn't inferior to Rocephin
and had a slightly higher cure rate - 84% versus 78%.
The news brings a bit of light to what has been otherwise a dark
few months for Forest. In the last quarter, Forest said sales of
its depression fighter Lexapro fell 5%. Lexapro, which the company
sells for Denmark's H. Lundbeck A/S (HLUKY) in the U.S., accounts
for about 60% of Forest's revenue.
In April, Forest reported a 46% drop in fiscal fourth-quarter
profit, partly reflecting $170 million the maker of name-brand and
generic drugs set aside in connection with a U.S. government probe
into its marketing practices.
In addition, the Food and Drug Administration earlier that month
warned 14 major pharmaceutical companies, including Forest, about
brief Internet ads that accompany searches on Google and other
search engines. The FDA contended the ads were misleading because
they didn't include risk information.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658;
mike.barris@dowjones.com
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