The encouraging results Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN ) reported for its late-stage
prostate cancer treatment was great news for company investors, as shares of the
San Francisco-based biotechnology shot up nearly 140% Thursday. However, the
pronouncement only further soured the already grim mood at rival Dendreon
(NASDAQ: DNDN ), which markets the once high-flying prostate medication
Provenge. Executives at the Seattle-based company must be asking themselves
"What's next?" On Wednesday, they saw the company's stock pummeled in
after-hours trading after forecasting November sales for Provenge would be lower
than October's. Their shares continued to be battered Thursday following the
Medivation announcement, hitting a 52-week low closing of $6.55. The Medivation
compound, known as MDV3100, might even have some advantages over the recently
approved Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) prostate cancer drug, Zytiga. In the
study, patients on MDV3100 enjoyed a survival rate similar to the 3.9 months
that Zytiga needed to gain FDA approval. However, unlike J&Js drug, the
Medivation treatment doesnt require the patient to also take prednisone a
steroid hormone linked to high blood pressure, weight gain, pain, depression and
weakness. Prednisone degrades the quality of life, which is very important to
this patient population, Wedbush Securities analyst David Nierengarten said in a
Reuters article . Medivation, which is developing MDV3100 with Japanese partner
Astellas Pharma Inc., plans to sit down with the FDA in a pre-New Drug
Application meeting early next year. When approved, most likely in early 2013,
the Medivation pill could become the favored treatment in a new generation of
prostate cancer medicines, surpassing Zytiga, also taken orally, and Provenge,
which is infused. When (MDV3100) is on the market it will displace Zytiga,
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