Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals Inc. (fka RCPIQ)

[Buddhahead]

UPDATE 2-U.S. FDA approves Biogen's oral MS drug, Tecfidera
Wed Mar 27, 2013, in Reuters Health By Toni Clarke

Excerpts:
"* Tecfidera expected to become dominant oral MS treatment

* Sales of Tecfidera expected to top $3 billion by 2017

* Tecfidera expected to be launched within days

* Stock rises 3.2 percent to $182.68 (Adds analyst comment, background, stock price)"

"Shares of Weston, Massachusetts-based Biogen rose 3.2 percent to close at $182.68 on Wednesday. The shares have more than tripled over the past three years, mainly driven by high hopes for Tecfidera, known chemically as dimethyl fumarate.

Biogen already sells the MS drugs Avonex and Tysabri, which together account for about 30 percent of the market. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's drug Copaxone is the current market leader, with a roughly 29 percent share and annual sales last year of more than $4 billion.

Unlike Copaxone, Avonex and Tysabri, which are injected or infused, Tecfidera comes in the more convenient form of a pill. As such, it will compete with Novartis AG's MS pill Gilenya, which, though first to market, has been dogged by heart safety concerns. Gilenya holds an 8.5 percent share of the market and generated worldwide sales of $1.2 billion last year.

Tecfidera will also compete with Sanofi's recently approved MS pill Aubagio. Aubagio's label carries a boxed warning -- the most serious kind of warning -- alerting physicians to a potentially heightened risk of liver problems."

Article at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/biogen-tecfidera-idUSL2N0CJ1WJ20130327