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Monday, May 26, 2008

FDA's OK means payday for Adolor

When it comes to drug development, every decision the Food and Drug Administration makes (or does not make) can have big-money implications.

Case in point: The FDA’s approval of Adolor Corp.’s first drug last week triggered a $20 million payment to the Exton drug company.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has been Adolor’s partner in developing Entereg, a treatment for constipation related to bowel surgery, since April 2002.

Their agreement then called for GlaxoSmithKline to pay as much as $270 million to co-develop and market Entereg. Adolor got $50 million upfront; the rest would only be paid after reaching certain milestones.

Adolor received $10 million during 2004 when the FDA accepted the new drug application for Entereg, the beginning of the regulatory review process. Nearly four years later, Entereg narrowly won approval and will be restricted for use only in hospitals.

So if you’re keeping score, Adolor has received $80 million from GlaxoSmithKline from a deal first announced six years ago.

But starting in June, when the two drug companies expect to launch Entereg, Adolor will begin to see something it has never seen in 15 years: sales revenue.

Philly Ticker

Bank stocks have done little but gurgle since the credit crisis began to rage. But there’s nothing like a little acquisition to stoke the stock price.

Shares of Willow Financial Bancorp Inc. soared 21 percent last week after Harleysville National Corp. agreed to acquire it for $162 million. That made Willow the biggest mover among local stocks. It closed Friday at $9.30.

Companies making acquisitions rarely see their shares rise. And Harleysville fell 4 percent last week to close at $13.46 on Friday.

Annual Meetings

This week’s shareholders meetings:

* MEDecision (Tuesday.)

* Vishay Intertechnology (Wednesday.)

* Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Genaera (Thursday.)

* Aetna, ICT Group (Friday.)
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 3:05 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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