ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) said it earned a $7.5 million milestone payment, the first of two milestone payments totaling $15 million, from AstraZeneca for the advancement of ISIS-STAT3, also referred to as AZD9150, in patients with advanced cancers. Isis will earn the second $7.5 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca upon initiation of a Phase 2 study. Isis has completed a clinical study of ISIS-STAT3 in patients with advanced cancers and plans to present results from this study at an upcoming medical meeting. AstraZeneca is currently evaluating ISIS-STAT3 in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with advanced metastatic liver cancer. AstraZeneca plans to initiate additional clinical studies to further evaluate ISIS-STAT3.Under the amended terms of agreement, ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) has earned a $7.5 million milestone payment today. Upon initiation of the Phase 2 study, Isis will earn a second $7.5 million milestone payment and an additional $10 million milestone payment. In total, Isis is eligible to receive up to $70 million in milestone payments as ISIS-STAT3 advances through clinical development. In addition, Isis is eligible to earn up to $170 million in regulatory milestone payments plus royalties on the commercial sales of the drug.Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC), a medical technology company, announced fiscal Q4 results that beat the Street view on both EPS and total revenues, buoyed by the acquisition of Trumpf Medical. Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.74, up from $0.71 in the same period a year ago and beating analyst estimates of $0.71. Total revenues of $479.8 million were up from $437.9 million in Q4 2013 and topped analyst projections of $467.50 million. The company's year-over-year revenue increase was primarily due to the Trumpf Medical acquisition which closed in August.For Q1 2015, the company expects revenue growth of 14-16% and adjusted earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.44 to $0.48. The Street is at $0.50 per share in earnings. Fiscal year 2015 revenue is expected to grow 11-13% with adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.42 to $2.48. The Street view is $2.58 per share. Shares of HRC are at $43.79 within a 52-week range of $34.94 - $44.85.Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) Wednesday reported a strong quarter in Q4 ended September 26, with earnings and sales benefiting from "market share gains, strategic acquisitions, the successful launch of new products and productivity improvements." The medical equipment provider said adjusted earnings from operations, a non-GAAP measure, rose to $528 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, from last year's $419 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, ahead of the mean estimate of $1.02 provided by Capital IQ. Net sales of $2.73 billion increased 7%, both on a reported and on an operational basis, from the $2.56 billion in Q4 a year ago. The Capital IQ consensus was for $2.68 billion.Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) CEO Jose E. Almeida commented: "We finished fiscal 2014 with an outstanding performance in the fourth quarter that greatly exceeded our expectations. Market share gains, strategic acquisitions, the successful launch of new products and productivity improvements all contributed to the achievement of double-digit earnings growth, both for the quarter and for the year."
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