The Amylin Gains Could Have Even Been Larger (AMLN, ALKS, NVO)

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up 17.8% at $14.29 on word that the FDA finally gave its once-a-week diabetes drug Bydureon approval.  Alkermes Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) is higher as it gets a royalty.  What is interesting is that if you have followed Amylin as long as we have, some investors might have guessed this would jump even more.

Rival company Novo Nordisk AS (NYSE: NVO) had a superior drug result with Victoza.  Fierce biotech noted that Amylin intends to charge $323 for a month’s supply versus about $421 for the high-dose version of Victoza. The weekly injection could very easily replace standard twice-a-day injections and many analysts believe this has a blockbuster potential that could generate more than $1 billion in annual sales.

So, why do we say this could have been up even more?  This situation with Amylin has been an ongoing saga that goes back for what is nearing a decade.  This company was always considered as a potential buyout candidate. 

After this near-18% gain, Amylin has a market cap of only $2.1 billion.  At $14.29, the 52-week range is $8.03 to $16.58.