What a wild ride Xoma shares were on today, Xoma started out at $.28 this morning and rocketed up to almost .40 intraday. Xoma has since cooled off a bit and is trading after hours at .33. The news from the FDA that sent the shares higher was the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted its drug candidate XOMA 052 orphan drug status for the treatment of the extremely rare condition Behcet's disease. The designation means that if approved for the condition, the drug would enjoy certain market exclusivities and Xoma could be entitled to tax credits for further research. The orphan drug designation is intended to encourage the development of drugs for the treatment of diseases that afflict fewer than 200,000 Americans. Orphan drugs. The Orphan Drug Act (ODA) of January 1983, passed in the United States, with lobbying from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, is meant to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs for diseases that have a small market. Under the law, companies that develop such a drug (a drug for a disorder affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States) may sell it without competition for seven years. Seven years is a long time and could give Xoma shares some incresed revenue year over year.

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About Xoma:

XOMA Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and manufacture of therapeutic antibodies to treat inflammatory, autoimmune, infectious, and oncological diseases. The company receives royalties on products, such as LUCENTIS for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration; and CIMZIA for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Its products under development include XOMA 052, a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and other diseases, which is in Phase II clinical studies; and XOMA 3AB, a biodefense anti-botulism antibody for the treatment of botulism poisoning. The company’s developing product also includes HCD122, a human anti-CD40 antagonist antibody for the treatment of B-cell mediated diseases, including malignancies and autoimmune diseases in Phase I/II clinical trials for various indications. In addition, it licenses proprietary technologies relating to bacterial expression of recombinant pharmaceutical products to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The company has collaboration agreements with Kaketsuken; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; SRI International; Genentech, Inc.; UCB Celltech; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Schering-Plough Research Institute; Novartis AG; and Arana Therapeutics Limited. XOMA Ltd. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Berkeley, California.