Acorda Therapeutics stock rises on closure of FDA inspections

Shares of Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACOR) shot up Thursday after the biotech, which commercializes therapies for neurological disorders, disclosed that it had received letters from the US Food and Drug Administration indicating that inspections of its manufacturing facilities are successfully closed.

The Ardsley, New York-based biotech develops Inbrija for the treatment of “off” periods in Parkinson’s disease. With long-term use, the gold standard medication for Parkinson’s disease, levodopa, can wear off before it’s time for another dose, causing motor fluctuations called “off” episodes.   

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder, which affects about 1 million people in the US and 1.2 million in Europe.

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Acorda has received letters from the FDA regarding “the FDA’s pre-approval inspections of the company’s Chelsea, Massachusetts, manufacturing facility and the Inbrija inhaler device manufacturer’s facility, indicating that the FDA’s inspections of these facilities are successfully closed, without need for any further action by the FDA,” per a company filing.

Shares in Acorda opened more than 4% higher at $19.96 Thursday morning.

Oppenheimer analysts Jay Olson and Silvan Tuerkcan have a Perform rating on Acorda with a US$21 price target. They view the compnay as “fairly-valued” and beleive it is sucessfully transforming itself into a pre-commercial biotech focused on Parkinson’s disease.

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive 

Story by ProactiveInvestors