Dendreon Rises on Optimism Over Cancer Drug Provenge

Dendreon Corp. (DNDN) rose the most in a year on optimism that more patients will begin taking the biotechnology company’s prostate cancer drug Provenge.

Dendreon shares surged 21 percent to close at $6.17 for its biggest increase since Jan. 5, 2012. The shares of the Seattle- based drugmaker fell 60 percent in the 12 months through yesterday on concern that urologists weren’t making use of the medicine.

Discussions with doctors prescribing Provenge show the drug is being used more often, Geoffrey Porges, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst, said in a note upgrading Dendreon’s shares to outperform. The urologists who prescribe Provenge the most said they expect a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in the frequency of use this year compared with last year, he said.

“We were impressed by the loyalty of active users of Provenge,” said Porges, who raised the target price on Dendreon shares to $10 from $7.

Porges increased his peak revenue forecast for Dendreon to $799 million by 2017 from $580 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Edney in Washington at aedney@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net