InterMune Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of biopharmaceutical company InterMune (NAS: ITMN) jumped as much as 13% in midday trading after the company revealed preliminary results of its recent launch of Esbriet, a lung disease treatment.

So what: During the fourth quarter, InterMune sold $2.7 million of Esbriet in Germany and has sold $2.8 million since its launch in mid-September. The company expects to launch the drug in France, Spain, and Italy during the second quarter and in the United Kingdom in October.

Now what: The company also said that long-term use of Esbriet has shown positive results in trials. It also updated guidance saying that during fiscal 2011, InterMune expects to spend between $75 million and $80 million on R&D, a drop from a previously expected $85 million to $95 million. The extra money will be spent mostly on sales, general, and administrative expenses.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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