Supernus rises on Orenitram approval
Supernus keeps rising following FDA approval of pulmonary arterial hypertension drug
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals continued their climb Tuesday after regulators approved a drug Supernus helped develop.
The Food and Drug Administration approved United Therapeutics' drug Orenitram Friday evening. The drug is intended to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, a potentially fatal condition in which patients have abnormally high blood pressure in their lungs. Orenitram uses technology developed by Supernus, and the company will get milestone and royalty payments based on the approval of the drug.
Shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose $1.06, or 14 percent, to $8.46 in morning trading. The stock climbed 8 percent Monday.
At the end of 2012 Supernus said it had received $1.5 million in milestone payments from United Therapeutics Corp. and added that it could get $2 million in additional payments if Orenitram were approved as a treatment for PAH. It will also receive single-digit royalty payments on all worldwide sales.
The Rockville, Md., company started selling two epilepsy drugs this year — Trokendi XR and Oxtellar XR.
United Therapeutics shares jumped 30.4 percent Monday and slipped 39 cents to $114.12 Tuesday morning.
