We would like to take a closer look at the upcoming results of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals’ (MACK) lead drugs, MM-398 and MM-121. MM-398 MM-398 is a liposomal formulation of irinotecan intended for the treatment of pancreatic cancer (PC). Irinotecan is marketed by Pfizer as Camptosar® and approved for first-line treatment of colon cancer in combination with […]
BCRX – BioCryst – Entering The HAE Market
BioCryst announced on Monday July 22 the successful completion of a Phase I study on the safety and PK of BCX4161, a candidate for the treatment of Hereditary angioedema (HAE). HAE is a genetic disorder resulting from the loss or dysfunction of complement C1 Inhibitor (C1INH). Among the functions performed by C1INH is regulation of […]
STML – Follow up on Stemline
In what is becoming increasingly rare these last few months, Stemline made its public debut this January with a drug on track for late stage studies. The company focuses on cancer stem cells, with the clinical candidates SL-401 and SL-701. Today, we will delve into the former, a drug targeted to the IL-3 receptor. Read […]
More biotech IPO’s from the first half of 2013
(jointly with Jason Chew and Juan Pedro Rodriguez Serrate) Today, we continue to highlight some recent biotech/life sciences IPOs. Frankly, our earlier post had a much higher quality group of companies seeking to raise money on the public markets. The companies below all have something about their pipeline or lead products that is in some […]
ASTX – Breaking out of the Downtrend Channel
Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ASTX) -Nasdaq ASTX had an epic run that started at the end of February from the low of $2.94, just after two months of price consolidation, and reached a six year’s high of $6.95 on April 30, 2012. From that point, the stock started a deep technical correction, trading in a downtrend channel […]
INFI – Infinity Pharma, Staying The Course
This has been one heck of a roller-coaster ride. The stock took 8 months to triple in price, and just 2 to give it all back. Shares began to swoon prior to data presentations at ASCO and ICML. We had expected positive results to soothe the market, but this was not the case. Investors focused […]
July 5- Morning Edition
This is another relatively short note as there is not much news today and I suspect most everyone is enjoying an extended Fourth of July weekend. I just wanted to touch on a couple of points and do so early because my office computer is not working well for some reason. It is a royal […]
SGYP – Cautiously Optimistic On Synergy Pharmaceuticals
We revisit Synergy Pharmaceuticals as the company prepares to initiate a Phase III Chronic Idiopathic Constipation (CIC) study of lead drug plecanatide later this year. Top-line results from the Phase II/III trial were released January 2 early this year, followed by complete data reported at the Digestive Disease Week convention in May. As we had […]
BMY – In A Consolidation Mode
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) BMY had an amazing run ahead of ASCO-2013 that left many well-planned traders very happy. The stock found strong support near the 50-Day Moving Average around $39.50 where many traders(ourselves included) started initial positions. The stock had a great run into the ASCO abstracts release on May 15th, moving roughly […]
ALNY – Alnylam’s busy summer
Some viewed 2012 as a year of redemption for the field of RNA therapeutics with several notable successes in the sector. This year will likely also mark another important milestone for this specialty sector of the biotech industry. The next 30 days should be rather interesting for Alnylam Pharma (NASDAQ:ALNY) and to some extent Tekmira […]
AEGR – Quick commentary on Aegerion
Aegerion has been one of the best performing stocks over the past 6-12 months. This has been driven by the value creation of Juxtapid (lomitapide), a small molecule microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor, was approved by the FDA and EMA adjunct to a low-fat diet and other lipid-lowering treatments, including LDL apheresis where available, in […]
ABBV – A look into Abbvie
with Patrick Crutcher and Jason Chew Abbvie (ABBV) presented data on its oncology candidates at ASCO meeting and updated investors at Jefferies Healthcare Conference last week. The stock, like other fellow big caps, has had a considerable run over the past few months and is up 25% YTD, after the split from Abbott (ABT). On […]
Impressions from ASCO 2013 Days 3 and 4
Having survived ASCO 2013, we wanted to review some of the main data from Days 3 and 4. After a very long first 2 sessions, Day 3 and 4 were less data heavy, however, the outcomes from some of these had a dramatic effect for some (like CLVS, INFI, TSRO and SNTA). PD1’s belle of […]
Biggest takeaway from ASCO 2013
With wrapping up our coverage of the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, I feel compelled to elucidate a point that we tried to hammer home with our preview of this meeting. I attended at least a dozen presentations covering various indications, but nothing compared to the sessions on the developments […]
Flash takes from ASCO 2013 Day 1/2
With Day 1 and 2 of ASCO 2013 completed, we wanted to review some of our main conclusions from the presentations and posters we reviewed. We will try our best given the vast amount of dense information covered during this time. As we previously said, this was largely a conference dominated by newsflow from big […]
CYTK – Our take on the upcoming ATOMIC-AHF study results
Results from ATOMIC-AHF, a Phase IIb clinical trial of omecamtiv mecarbil, are quickly approaching. Cytokinetics (NASDAQ: CYTK) and partner Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) expect to release top-line data around mid-year, probably in June or July. We published a comprehensive analysis of Cytokinetics’ cardiac muscle program in this article. The ATOMIC-AHF study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical […]
INFI – Infinity Pharmaceuticals: Down But Not Out
Less than two months ago on April 2, INFI hit a multi-year high of $50.26. Since then, the stock tumbled more than 50% in a relentless fall driven by high trading volume. Shares recently recovered some and now sit at about $25. Many have argued the stock was overpriced in early April when it carried […]
VICL – Bear take on Allovectin-7
with Patrick Crutcher Vical (NASDAQ: VICL) is approaching the release of top-line data from a Phase III clinical trial of Allovectin-7 (A7) in patients with metastatic melanoma. According to the company’s last earnings call, it’s slated to occur sometime during the third quarter of this year. A7, also known as velimogene aliplasmid, is a DNA […]
GILD – Gilead – Building An Oncology Powerhouse
Having solidified its position as the leading provider of HIV medicines, Gilead turned toward a strategy of diversification, first with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease, then HCV. The first two were mostly busts, but a strong focus on Hepatitis C has paid dividends for stakeholders. Now the company is building on its momentum to create an […]
ASCO2013 Take Three: PD1 antibodies will have significant presence
This is our third piece in a series of articles on developments expected at ASCO 2013[1,2]. Currently, we think the majority of the exciting presentations at ASCO 2013 will be from clinical candidates at big pharma. In particular, anti-programmed death-1 monoclonal antibodies(anti-PD-1) like Bristol Myers’ Nivolumab(BMS-936558), Merck’s Lambrolizumab (MK-3475), GSK’s AMP-224, Teva/CureTech’s CT-011 and Roche/Genentech’s […]
