Alliqua (ALQA) soars after news of completing pain patch study

Biomedical products company Alliqua, Inc. (OTCBB: ALQA) was up more than 35 percent on Thursday after the company announced that it completed an initial study for its transdermal pain patch project.

Shares of Alliqua were up as high as 21 cents in morning trading on Thursday, up from Wednesday’s closing price of 17 cents per share.

“The successful outcome of this study validates the progress Alliqua has made in creating a specialized transdermal pain patch based on our proprietary hydrogel technology,” said Alliqua’s president, Richard Rosenblum in a statement.

Alliqua was formerly known as HepaLife Technologies, Inc., and traded under the ticker symbol HPLF. The name change and new ticker symbol was made official on January 5, 2011.

5 penny stocks gaining ground on Thursday – HAUP, NMTI, LXRX, IBCP, SOPW

Hauppauge Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAUP) advanced as much as 55 percent from Wednesday’s closing price on Thursday, after the maker of TV tuners for PCs, unveiled new devices for streaming live television over laptops and Apple Inc’s iPad and iPhone. This new stand alone “box” from Hauppauge’s PCTV Systems division, called Broadway, allows live TV to be watched on an Apple device in the home through a WiFi connection, or anywhere in the world via an Internet connection. One of the key technologies within Broadway is a high-quality, high definition H.264 video compressor, which can take TV programs from clear QAM digital cable TV or ATSC over-the-air TV and “shrink” these programs into a form which can be displayed on an Apple device.

Shares of medical products maker, NMT Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMTI) were up as much as 57 percent from Wednesday’s close after the company announced a new $2 million credit facility with LSQ Funding Group, L.C., a Florida-based firm that specializes in providing financing to small- and medium-sized businesses. NMT Medical is an advanced medical technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary implant technologies that allow interventional cardiologists to treat structural heart disease through minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX) shares soared as much as 36 percent on Thursday on the news that the company would commence development of a tablet version of its drug for type-2 diabetes. Lexicon reported that the drug, LX4211, had presented promising data in a mid-stage study, it would begin another mid-stage study in Q2 2011. Lexicon reported that a double dose of the 150 milligram tablet form of the drug quickly lowered blood sugar levels in patients compared to studies using a lower dosage liquid form of the drug. Shares of LXRX are up about 28 percent in the past three months.

Independent Bank Corporation (Nasdaq: IBCP) traded up as much as 50 percent on nearly 10x the company’s average three-month volume on Thursday. Shares climbed as high as $2.44, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $1.62. IBCP reported a net loss to common shareholders of $15.9 million during the first three quarters of 2010, or $3.71 a share, better than a net loss of $45.3 million, or $19.02 a share, a year earlier. The shares underwent a reverse 10 to 1 split in August. Total assets were $2.7 billion as of September 30. The company owes $72 million in TARP money and has deferred its last three dividend payments on preferred shares held by the government, according to TheStreet.com.

Our final big mover under $5 today is Solar Power, Inc. (OTCBB: SOPW). Shares climbed as high as $0.62 on Thursday, up 67 percent from Wednesday’s closing price of $0.37 per share. Volume was nearly 30-times the company’s average three month volume. Shares soared on Thursday after it was announced that Chinese solar company, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) agreed to acquire a 70 percent interest in Solar Power Inc. for about $33 million. LDK will also purchase certain components of Solar Power’s manufacturing equipment, and will assume control of its module manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Shares of SOPW are up about 140 percent over the past three months.

ACTC moves higher on FDA clearance for stem cell therapy trials

Shares of Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC) advanced higher on Thursday following an announcement earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the company the green light to conduct clinical trials for a therapy made from embryonic stem cells in patients with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a common cause of vision loss.

“Dry AMD is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over the age of 55,” Dr. Robert Lanza, ACTC’s chief scientific officer, said in a statement. “As the population ages, the incidence of AMD is expected to double over the next 20 years, further exacerbating this unmet medical need.”

Age-Related Macular Degeneration has two predominant forms, wet and dry. Dry AMD is the most common form, accounting for almost 90 percent of all cases. The progress of Dry AMD includes a breakdown or thinning of the layer of RPE cells in the patient’s macula, the region at the center of the retina responsible for high acuity vision. Over time, the progressive loss of RPE cells and accompanying loss of photoreceptors can cause severe vision loss and even blindness.

This marks the second FDA approved trial for ACTC’s stem cell product. The first came in November when ACTC received FDA approval for the second human trial of human embryonic stem cells to treat people with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness.

“ACT is now the first company to receive FDA clearance for two hESC trials, and is now a true translational leader in the field of regenerative medicine,” said Gary Rabin, Interim Chairman and CEO of ACTC in a statement. “It marks a major step forward, not just within the stem cell sector, but, potentially for modern healthcare techniques. We plan to proceed into the clinic with both of our hESC-based programs as quickly as possible.”

Shares of ACTC are up as much as 420 percent over the past three months.