Business

5 companies that will get a boost from Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge has raised more than $40 million for ALS over the last two months, $8.6 million on Tuesday alone.

But what does that really mean?

Besides the millions of viral videos now circulating on the Web, there is an entire force of big pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit clinics and universities hunting for a cure. The record influx of funds supporting Lou Gehrig’s disease may help them home in on one.

In August, the ALS Association began putting those donations to work, awarding scientists 21 new research grants valued at $3.5 million, it said in a report.

Some of the money is being funneled to its TREAT ALS research program, an effort to accelerate clinical testing for drug candidates and aid new drug discovery. A lot of the other money goes to support NEALS, a nonprofit consortium of clinics and universities dedicated to ALS research and development, while some goes to ALS victims and public policy efforts.

For victims of ALS, new awareness about the degenerative disease and a spike in funds means pharmaceutical companies and other industry players can focus on developing novel therapies.

Here are a few of the biggest players:

Biogen Idec doubled down on ALS research in the last year after its experimental ALS drug dexpramipexole failed a late-stage trial in early 2013. The company’s head of ALS research, Don Johns, tells MarketWatch that the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech company is mining data from the 2013 study to mold its ALS research for future ALS therapies.

“Biogen has had a long-term commitment to this space, but it’s nice to see word getting out,” Johns said.

Biogen’s second-quarter profit blew past expectations in July due to demand for its multiple sclerosis treatments. Its shares are up 12.5 percent over the last month and 22 percent since January.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals this year announced positive results of mid- and late-stage studies for a drug called Nuedexta used as a treatment for pseudobulbar affect (PBA). PBA, a neurologic condition characterized by sudden and uncontrolled outbursts of laughing and crying, is also a big symptom of ALS.

Shares of Avanir are up 6.8 percent in the last month and 69 percent since Jan. 1, partially due to a bullish earnings report where the company posted 45 percent revenue growth on strong demand for Nuedexta.

Isis Pharmaceuticals in 2010 initiated an early-stage study of a drug as a treatment for ALS in patients with an inherited, aggressive form of the disease. The trial was partly funded by the ALS Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2013, Isis reported positive safety data from the test, which represents a novel approach to ALS treatment by shutting off the mutated gene that causes the disease.

Shares of Isis are up 20 percent over the last month after upbeat second-quarter earnings related to its fleet of successful diabetes drugs. Also last quarter, Isis’ senior vice president of research, Frank Bennett, was awarded the Commitment to a Cure Award by the ALS Association for the company’s commitment to the disease.

Sanofi had the only single medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ALS. The drug, Rilutek, is proven to extend survival in patients with ALS. However, it was sold to Swiss-based Covis Pharma Sarl in 2013. Sanofi reported strong earnings for the second quarter in July, led by its rare disease and diabetes categories. Its shares are up 4 percent this month, though they are flat on the year.

Bristol-Meyers Squibb has a large program dedicated to immune modulation, which could provide future opportunities for ALS therapeutics. The company in July topped second-quarter expectations thanks to fast-growing sales of cancer drugs Yervoy and Spyrcel. Its shares are up 2 percent over the last month but down 6 percent year-to-date.