Labopharm CEO Sees Trazodone Pact After FDA Decision >DDSS
July 6,2009 4:00pm
By Andy Georgiades Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
TORONTO (DOW JONES)--Labopharm Inc. (DDSS) has made a great deal of progress in partnership talks for its Trazodone drug, but it sees no reason at this point to sign a deal until a U.S. regulatory decision is made, its top executive said.
In an interview with Dow Jones, James Howard-Tripp said that, with only two weeks to go until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration makes a decision, there would be "no logic" in finalizing a marketing pact now.
The FDA is expected to make a decision by July 18.
"With most groups, once you get to within a couple of weeks of the (FDA's deadline) date, (they're) probably a little reluctant to sign," he said, adding that Labopharm would also prefer to wait.
Assuming a positive decision, Labopharm would want to complete the partnership "fairly rapidly" after approval, with the aim of launching the drug "very early" in 2010, he said.
Trazodone has many generics available, but Labopharm's version is taken only once daily and can help patients sleep better.
Labopharm's stock has been on a tear, up 28% in July alone, mainly on anticipation of a regulatory decision on Trazodone and/or a partnership.
Canaccord Adams analyst Neil Maruoka said in a note Monday that he believes Trazodone has a "better-than-average" approval chance.
"A positive decision would likely result in a pop in the stock and point to a potential partnership for the drug in the near-term," he wrote. He rates the stock a buy.
On Nasdaq Monday, Labopharm is up 7 cents to $2.53 on 980,000 shares.
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