DURECT Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines based on its epigenetic regulator program. The company's lead product larsucosterol (DUR-928), an endogenous, orally bioavailable small molecule that is in Phase IIb clinical trial to play a regulatory role in lipid metabolism, stress and inflammatory responses, and cell death and survival to treat alcohol-associated hepatitis, as well as completed Phase Ib clinical trial to treat patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. It also offers ALZET product line that consists of osmotic pumps and accessories used for research in mice, rats, and other laboratory animals. In addition, the company offers POSIMIR, a post-surgical pain product to deliver bupivacaine over three days in adults; and Methydur to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It markets and sells its ALZET lines through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors in other countries. The company has strategic collaboration and other agreements with Virginia Commonwealth University Intellectual Property Foundation; Indivior UK Ltd.; and Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited. DURECT Corporation was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

DURECT Corporation

(RTTNews) - Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC), a pharmaceutical company, on Tuesday announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire DURECT Corp. (DRRX), gaining access to its novel therapeutic candidate, larsucosterol.
Shares of DURECT are increasing by around 12% in the pre-market trading.
The acquisition of larsucosterol's clinical development program for alcoholic hepatitis or AH, complements Bausch Health's ongoing RED-C clinical program.
Larsucosterol, a naturally occurring sulfated oxysterol and epigenetic modulator, has shown encouraging results in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.
Bausch Health plans to leverage its hepatology expertise to support the continued clinical development and potential commercialization of the therapy.
Alcoholic hepatitis is a serious and life-threatening type of liver disease caused by long-term heavy alcohol use. It leads to severe inflammation and damage to the liver. Currently, there are no approved treatments for AH by the FDA or EMA, so new treatment options are urgently needed to help patients survive.
The Phase 3 trial design is based on feedback from the FDA during a Breakthrough Therapy Designation meeting and insights from the earlier Phase 2b AHFIRM trial.
RED-C is evaluating the effectiveness of rifaximin SSD, a next-generation treatment, in delaying the first hospitalization for overt hepatic encephalopathy or OHE and reducing overall mortality.
Currently, there are no approved medications worldwide to prevent or delay the first episode of OHE in patients with cirrhosis.
Enrollment in two global Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials has been completed, with safety and efficacy results expected in early 2026.
In the pre-market trading, Bausch Health is 2.32% higher at $7.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.
In the pre-market trading, DURECT is 12.8460% higher at $0.6237 on the Nasdaq.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Bausch Health To Acquire DURECT; Expanding Liver Disease Pipeline With Larsucosterol

For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Durect (DRRX) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Durect is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1042 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Durect is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRRX's full-year earnings has moved 31.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, DRRX has moved about 169.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 4.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Durect is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Elevance Health (ELV). The stock is up 11.8% year-to-date.
For Elevance Health, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Durect is a member of the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 185 individual companies and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 9.2% this year, meaning that DRRX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Elevance Health belongs to the Medical Services industry. This 58-stock industry is currently ranked #98. The industry has moved +3.8% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Durect and Elevance Health. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Are Medical Stocks Lagging DURECT (DRRX) This Year?

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News & Insights

(RTTNews) - DURECT Corp. (DRRX) announced Loss for fourth quarter that decreased from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.
The company's bottom line came in at -$1.4 million, or -$0.10 per share. This compares with -$10.5 million, or -$0.46 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn -$0.33 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company's revenue for the quarter fell 18.2% to $2.7 million from $3.3 million last year.
DURECT Corp. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q4): -$1.4 Mln. vs. -$10.5 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q4): -$0.10 vs. -$0.46 last year. -Revenue (Q4): $2.7 Mln vs. $3.3 Mln last year.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

DURECT Corp. Q4 Loss decreases, beats estimates

(RTTNews) - Biopharmaceutical company DURECT Corp. (DRRX) announced Monday that it has entered into a co-marketing and collaboration agreement with Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) for the ALZET Osmotic Pumps Portfolio and Associated Product Line in the U.S. and Canada.
Charles River Research Models & Services (RMS) sales and marketing teams will collaborate with DURECT to jointly market and commercialize the ALZET product line to existing and new customers over a multi-year period.
Charles River RMS will provide dedicated marketing resources and collaborate with DURECT to develop and roll out a broad range of sales and marketing initiatives for ALZET.
DURECT will remain responsible for manufacturing, marketing support, order fulfillment and customer billing.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

DURECT Inks Co-marketing And Collaboration Deal With Charles River For ALZET Product Line

In trading on Wednesday, drugs shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 2.8%. Helping drag down the group were shares of Durect, down about 76.2% and shares of Maravai LifeSciences Holdings down about 25.6% on the day.
Also lagging the market Wednesday are television & radio shares, down on the day by about 2.6% as a group, led down by Urban One, trading lower by about 34.9% and Paramount Global, trading lower by about 7.3%.
VIDEO: Wednesday Sector Laggards: Drugs, Television & Radio Stocks
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.