Pharma's Market

SPECIAL REPORT

Healthy Horizons
A brand new series of weekly segments which will explore the macro and micro issues facing the global economy.

LATEST FROM OUR BLOGS

» More

- 3 Safe Investments That Let You ‘Sleep Better:’ Strategist

MORE HEADLINES

» Markets | Economy | Companies

- Major Retail Earnings in Focus Ahead of Shopping Season

PHARMA'S MARKET VIDEO

» More

Making The Vaccine 06 Nov 2009
Inside the big push to get enough H1N1 vaccines, with CNBC's Mike Huckman.
Making the Flu Vaccine 06 Nov 2009
Wayne Pisano, CEO of Sanofi-Pasteur, discusses the making of the flu vaccine with CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Flu Fighting: On the Frontlines

06 Nov 2009

Flu vaccines were once a business that many drug companies avoided, but that segment of the pharma industry is now firmly in the spotlight. CNBC's Mike Huckman visits the only injectable flu vaccine plant in the US for a behind-the-scenes look.

Under the Flu Vaccine Veil

06 Nov 2009

J&J to Cut Up to 8,000 Jobs 03 Nov 2009
Johnson & Johnson says it will eliminate 6-7 percent of its workforce in a cost-cutting move. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the details.
J&J Announces Massive Restructuring 03 Nov 2009
Johnson & Johnson has announced a restructuring and that it will cut 6-7 percent of its global workforce. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the latest details.

RSS FEED

» Help

Subscribe to this RSS feed
Stay up to date with Pharma's Market.

CNBC ON DIGG

Crucell's Lovely RITA

Published: Wednesday, 24 Jun 2009 | 2:11 PM ET

Text Size

By: Mike Huckman
Reporter

ACC, ADA, AHA, ASCO, ICAD, TCT. That's just a handful of the acronyms and abbreviations for scientific and medical conferences that I've attended over the years. But this year I might be able to add RITA to my dance card. I'd never heard of her (it) before this morning when I got this press release from Crucell, which owns technology for faster, better, cheaper vaccine manufacturing. [CRXL Loading... () ]

Shares of the Dutch company are higher on the news of positive mid-stage test results for its experimental rabies vaccine. Sanofi-Aventis [SNY Loading... () ] is a partner on the product. CRXL says researchers will present the detailed data at RITA this fall. That'd be the "Rabies in the Americas" conference. Who knew there was such a thing? I can just see and hear it now: "I'm Mike Huckman live at 'The Rabies in the Americas' conference in Quebec and coming up next on CNBC...." The crest for RITA, by the way, cracks me up with the raccoon peering down at the dog and skunk.
Rabies in the Americas 2009
Source: rita2009.org
Rabies in the Americas 2009

Rabies deaths are almost unheardof in the U.S., but worldwide rabies kills tens of thousands of people each year, many of them in Asia. Still, an estimated 40,000 Americans annually have to get the expensive, time-consuming and potentially painful series of shots after they've been bitten by something rabid. Coincidentally, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control today recommended that people get just four instead of five post-exposure vaccine doses. The experts say four is enough to do the trick and that the move will help conserve vaccine which had supply issues in recent years. Sanofi and Novartis [NVS Loading... () ] make those shots. Crucell says its vaccine, which the FDA has put on a fast track, could be used in combination with either of them.

RELATED LINKS

Interestingly, CRXL [CRXL Loading... () ] shares have climbed back up to around the levels they hit early this year when the company announced it was talking to Wyeth [WYE Loading... () ] about a buyout. That deal fell through when a short time later Pfizer [PFE Loading... () ] announced it's buying Wyeth. But at least one analyst doesn't think that means CRXL has been left at the altar. In a research note to clients yesterday David Moskowitz at Caris & Company reiterated his "Buy" rating on the stock. Crucell, he said, "can be highly attractive to potential large-cap pharmaceutical suitors. We would not be surprised to see CRXL go out above $30 a share on a take out." And Moskowitz in a follow-up note today singles out the rabies vaccine partner SNY as a possible buyer. "This is an important product with sales potential of $300M-$400M annually, and CRXL retained strong economics (around) 40 percent of profits from SNY (a good reason for SNY to buy them out.)"