CADX Snapped Up, HNSN Gets FDA Nod, NNVC Rejects Report's Claims, NVLT Renamed

(RTTNews) - Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CADX) is all set to be acquired by a subsidiary of Mallinckrodt plc (MNK) for $14.00 per share in cash or roughly $1.3 billion on a fully diluted basis. The transaction is expected to close in mid- to late-March.

Mallinckrodt expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to its fiscal year 2014 as well as to its fiscal year 2015 adjusted diluted earnings per share.

CADX rose over 26 percent to close Tuesday's trading at $14.00.

Cardiome Pharma Corp. (CRME) (COM.TO) touched a new high of $7.92 on Tuesday before closing at $7.76, following an agreement with Tamro AB, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, to distribute Vernakalant IV to customers in the Swedish market. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Vernakalant IV, approved in Europe and other territories for the rapid conversion of recent onset atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm in adults is marketed under the brand name BRINAVESS. The drug is not approved in the U.S. yet.

Effective as of market open on February 12, 2014, Novelos Therapeutics Inc., which trades on the OTC market under ticker NVLT, will take up a new name - "Cellectar Biosciences Inc" and ticker symbol, "CLRB".

Cellectar will initiate its first company-sponsored phase II trial evaluating I-124-CLR1404 in glioblastoma in the first quarter of 2014.

Shares of Hansen Medical Inc. (HNSN) rose more than 12 percent on Tuesday to close at $2.51, following FDA clearance for its smaller diameter Magellan 6Fr Robotic Catheter for peripheral vascular interventions.

The company said that it will begin a limited release of the Magellan 6Fr Robotic Catheter, collecting clinical and procedure data over a broad set of cases over the next several months, and anticipates a more wide-scale release later in 2014.

Additionally, the FDA clearance of the Magellan 6Fr Robotic Catheter triggers the mandatory exercise of $14 million of Series A Warrants that were issued as part of the private placement of stock and warrants that was announced on July 31, 2013, the company added.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KBIO) has initiated phase II expansion portion of a study evaluating its experimental drug KB004 in hematologic malignancies. The company is targeting enrollment of 30 patients for this portion of the phase II expansion portion focusing solely on patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome.

The company expects to complete enrollment of at least one of the two currently planned indications for the phase II expansion portion by the end of this year, and would expect to announce top-line data for the AML or MDS cohorts mid-2015.

KBIO closed Tuesday's trading 3.75% higher at $3.04.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND) touched a new high of $71.92 on Tuesday before closing at $71.37, following strong Q4 and full-year 2013 results. Looking ahead, the company provided weaker-than expected Q1 estimate but stronger-than-expected full-year 2014 earnings per share outlook.

NanoViricides Inc. (NNVC) plunged more than 23 percent to $3.36 on Tuesday following an article in a stock market analysis website, questioning the integrity of the company and its officers.

Anil Diwan, the Chairman and President of NanoViricides who condemned the article said that it is a shameless attack from someone who neither understands the science nor the development work that has gone into nanoviricides drug candidates.

In after-hours, the stock gained 6.25% to $3.57.

PTC Therapeutics Inc. (PTCT) dropped 6.16 percent on Tuesday to close at $23.48 as it has commenced an underwritten public offering of approximately $75 million of shares of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price for the proposed offering are yet to be determined.

TNI BioTech Inc.'s (TNIB.OB) Form 10 registration statement has been cleared by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, thus making the company subject to file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K.

The company hailed the SEC Clearance as a critical step toward achieving its goal of trading on a senior US stock exchange such as NASDAQ or the NYSE.

TNIB.OB closed Tuesday's trading at $1.28, up 9.40%.

Zogenix Inc. (ZGNX) is preparing to launch Zohydro ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) extended-release capsules in early March. Zohydro ER was approved by FDA last October for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

ZGNX closed Tuesday's trading at $4.41, up 2.80%.