Adamas (ADMS) Launches Dyskinesia Drug In The US, Stock Up

Shares of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADMS) increased more than 5% on Jan 9, after it announced a full commercial launch of its lead product, Gocovri, in the United States for treating dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who are on levodopa-based therapy. Significantly, this is the first and the only drug to receive an approval for this indication in the United States.

Notably, the approved dosage for Gocovri extended release capsules is 274 mg, administered once daily.

Shares of Adamas have significantly outperformed the industry in a year. The stock has soared 95.3% against the industry’s decline of 25.7% in the period.

We remind investors that Gocovri was approved by the FDA last August for the aforementioned indication, based on positive data from two phase III studies. In both the trials, the drug showed statistically significant and clinically relevant reductions in dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Importantly, with the launch of Gocovri, Adamas deployed 59 neurology sales professionals, focused on educating people suffering from Parkinson's disease on the benefit and safety profile of the drug. Good news is that Gocovri has already been prescribed by 100 distinct physicians.

Incidentally, dyskinesia is a disorder, causing involuntary and non-rhythmic movements that are purposeless and unpredictable. Around one million people in the United States are affected with Parkinson's. Of this, approximately 150,000-200,000 people are down with dyskinesia. Additionally, nearly 90% PD patients develops dyskinesia over time. Therefore, the market opportunity for Gocovri in the United States has huge potential, providing physicians with an effective tool to address this long-standing unmet medical need.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Adamas carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) , XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA) and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP) . While Exelixis and XOMA sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sucampo carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Exelixis’ earnings per share estimates have been revised upward from 72 cents to 73 cents for 2018 over the last 60 days. The company pulled off a positive earnings surprise in each of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 572.92%. Share price of the company has soared 58.7% in a year’s time.

XOMA’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from 99 cents to 42 cents for 2018 over the last 30 days. The company came up with an average beat of 47.92%. Share price of the company has skyrocketed 553.1% in the last 12 months.

Sucampo’s earnings per share estimates have moved north from $1.15 to $1.19 for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 15.63%. Share price of the company has surged 38.6% in a year.

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