Omthera Pharmaceuticals Inc (OMTH), GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (GSK): This Week in Biotech

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) delivered mixed news on Thursday, when it announced that it will probably delay the launch of relapse-preventing multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera in Europe to secure exclusivity on its treatment for a longer period of time. The move does make sense, as a generalized patent could be challenged in Europe since it doesn’t cover “compounds.” If the EU grants Tecfidera the designation of “new active substance,” as Reuters describes, it’ll be protected from generic competition for 10 years. Still, with Tecfidera sales volume soaring in the U.S., waiting on Europe will be a disappointment.

Finally, Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP) subsidiary Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP) Pharmaceuticals received its third strike on low testosterone injection Aveed yesterday in the form of a complete response letter. The FDA has rejected the hypogonadism-treating drug three times now, pointing out that the rare, but often serious, adverse events produced by the once-every-10-week injection haven’t been properly addressed by Endo. Even though Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP) won’t need to rerun any additional trials, I think this is the end for Aveed which doesn’t have much ground to stand on in a very crowded low-testosterone space that has plenty of treatments with fewer side effects. That doesn’t mean you should ignore Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP), though, which offers a very profitable and well-diversified lineup of branded and generic drugs, as well as medical devices.

The article This Week in Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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