ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD), Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ASTX), Pfizer Inc. (PFE), and More: This Week in Biotech

The covering analyst, Corey Davis, is forecasting that AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACRX)’s post-operative pain management drug/system, sufentanil NanoTab PCA — which allows patients to give themselves a pre-set dose of sufentanil under their tongue instead of intravenously — will be approved by the FDA in 2014 and become up to a $400 million drug in the United States. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACRX)’s delivery system does drastically reduce the potential for infections and dosing errors, but I always remain concerned when pain medication systems go before the FDA. In essence, I’d still tread cautiously around this story.

Finally, Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SGYP) may have had the wildest week of them all. Synergy’s share price spiked 16% on Tuesday as an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald raised her peak sales estimate for plecandtide, the company’s midstage drug for chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, to $1.58 billion from $1.05 billion, as clinical data has been stronger than expected. However, the company didn’t return the favor to shareholders by — the very next day, mind you – announcing a secondary offering of 16.375 million shares. The downside of clinical-stage companies is the always apparent risk of dilution. Shares have lost 25% since their Tuesday close.

The article This Week in Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.

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