text: Drug Makers Stocks under Scanner -- Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and
  In today's pre-market research, Stock-Callers.com monitors the most recent performances of four major players in the Drug Manufacturers space, namely: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN), Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY), and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK). These companies belong to the Healthcare sector, which turned solidly lower in afternoon trade on Monday, December 19th, 2016, giving back prior gains. According to an article on NASDAQ, the NYSE Health Care Index fell about 0.4%, while shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 dropped nearly 0.5% as a group. You can access of our complimentary research reports on these stocks now at:
  On December 19th, 2016, Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it has signed a $50 million loan agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Inc. that provides additional funding toward development and clinical studies of AndexXa™ (andexanet alfa), an investigational compound that is a potential antidote for Factor Xa inhibitors. Under terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer will each loan Portola $25 million. The principal and interest will be repaid primarily through royalties on AndexXa commercial sales.
  On December 09th, 2016, research firm Leerink Partners upgraded the Company's stock rating from 'Market Perform' to 'Outperform'.
  On December 19th, 2016, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has advanced its lead drug candidate IONIS-AZ4-2.5-LRx, which has now been renamed AZD8233, into preclinical development. AZD8233 is designed to inhibit an undisclosed target to treat cardiovascular disease and is also the first of a new class of antisense drugs that uses both Ionis' proprietary Generation 2.5 chemistry and its LIgand Conjugated Antisense or LICA technology. In conjunction with this milestone, Ionis earned a $25 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca. The complimentary research report on AZN can be accessed at:
  On December 16th, 2016, Eli Lilly and Incyte Corp. announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion, recommending the approval of baricitinib - which if approved would be marketed as Olumiant®. This is the first regulatory step towards the approval of baricitinib and the CHMP positive opinion is now referred for final action to the European Commission, which grants approval in the EU.
  On December 16th, 2016, research firm Morgan Stanley upgraded the Company's stock rating from 'Equal-Weight' to 'Overweight'. Register for free on Stock-Callers.com and download the PDF research report on LLY at:
  On December 19th, 2016, GlaxoSmithKline and Innoviva, Inc. announced the start of a phase III study investigating the effects of once-daily closed triple combination therapy fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) when compared to therapy with the once-daily dual combination therapy, Relvar/Breo® (FF/VI), as a treatment for patients with asthma. Get free access to your research report on GSK at: