Stock Alert : Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) , EXACT Sciences (EXAS) , VIVUS, (VVUS) , Arrowhead Research (ARWR)

U.S. stocks fluctuated, after the largest three-day rally since 2011, as gains in technology shares offset losses among drugmakers. Energy producers resumed a selloff as oil sank, while European equities gained a fifth day.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent at 12:19 p.m. in New York. The MSCI All-Country World Index added 0.2 percent, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.5 percent. The ruble rallied past 55 per dollar on speculation exporters are responding to government pressure to sell foreign exchange, while the yen slid 0.3 percent. Brent oil dropped, erasing a gain of more than 2 percent, and natural gas futures sank 7 percent as an inventory surplus emerged.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)   declared that David Altshuler, M.D., Ph.D., will join the organization as Executive Vice President, Global Research and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Altshuler was one of the four founding members of the Broad Institute of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has served as Deputy Director and Chief Academic Officer since 2009. Dr. Altshuler is also currently a Professor of Genetics and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Adjunct Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been an attending physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed representatives of EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) that next week the agency will be issuing a correction to the 2015 lab fee schedule. Consistent with the November 25th final payment decision, CMS will reimburse Cologuard based on the national limit for CPT codes 82274, 81275 and 81315 which combined lead to a total reimbursement amount of $500.76.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) a biopharmaceutical company commercializing Qsymia®(phentermine and topiramate extended-release) capsules CIV for the treatment of obesity, declared that Qsymia is the sole anti-obesity agent listed on the CVS/Caremark Performance Drug List, or PDL. Preferred brand-name medicines are listed on the PDL to help identify products that are clinically appropriate and cost-effective as defined by CVS/Caremark.

Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) a biopharmaceutical organization developing targeted RNAi therapeutics, declared that it submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ARC-520, it’s drug candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Arrowhead plans to submit additional clinical trial authorization applications with regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions in Europe and Asia.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals, NASDAQ:VRTX  , EXACT Sciences, NASDAQ:EXAS , VIVUS, NASDAQ:VVUS , Arrowhead Research, NASDAQ:ARWR, VRTX, EXAS, VVUS, ARWR