January 16 Biotech Video Update

So today I did a chat on Twitch. If you go to the page there should be a video recording that you can watch. https://www.twitch.tv/chimeraresearch Rest assured quality will improve over time but I sort of like the ability to talk through the issues. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I […]

December 11 Biotech Update

Today will be interesting in whether or not we can break into new highs for the week. It looked like Monday was going to trigger a breakout and run but that sort of fizzled. Yesterday was a good day and so today will be interesting to see if we can push those highs seen on […]

December 9th Biotech Update

We have our answer as to the strength of the trend. Positive data are being rewarded (so far) and the perfect storm continues for the sector with not only good data but more M&A. So not only do we need to think about the trend but also whether this is a major breakout as the […]

ARQL- Quick Take

I have been following Arqule off and on for quite some time. The company has been reborn after so many lost years pursuing its failed MET inhibitor ARQ 197. Hopes are high for lead asset ARQ 531, a competitive inhibitor of BTK. Arqule also has a pipeline of 2 AKT inhibitors and an out-licensed FGFR […]

Catalyst Watch – Vol. 2, Edition 10 (4/4/14)

Below are current tactical and strategic thoughts on approaching FDA and clinical trial catalysts for select names. Estimates, values and views are as of the date published (or are noted), are subject to potential future, pre-catalyst revision and are not intended as investment recommendations. Please read our Disclaimer: (1) Catalyst Watch List – Update: CYTK: […]

What to look for at ESMO 2013

Apropos to our post yesterday on upcoming medical conferences, we wanted to begin with some coverage of the European Cancer Congress 2013 (ECCO-ESMO). This conference takes place Friday, September 27th thru Tuesday, October 1st. Below we have some of the datasets and updates we are looking forward to seeing. ESMO planners also put out their, […]

ARQL – Post-ASCO take on Arqule

At ASCO 2012, Arqule (NASDAQ: ARQL) presented the full results from their randomized Phase 2 trial of Tivantinib in previously treated second-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the ITT population, time-to-tumor progression was statistically significant with a hazard ratio [HR] = 0.64 (p-value = 0.04) with 6.9 weeks vs. 6.0 weeks. No real difference […]

Quick commentary on ASCO12 abstracts

Last night we had the release of the abstracts for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology(ASCO12 for short). It’s quite the data deluge. Below is some quick commentary on my read on abstracts related to several companies. Onyx(NASDAQ: ONXX) and Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) both had interesting datasets that we […]

ARQL – Update on Arqule

We wanted to take some time to review some of Arqule’s (NASDAQ: ARQL) plans going forward in 2012. Management seems more confident than ever in Tivantinib(ARQ197) following their successful Phase 2 in 2nd-line hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC, liver cancer). This success helped convince investors to participate in their recent 7.1M share offering that brought in around $48.7 […]

ARQL – Quick Update on Arqule

On January 17th, ArQule Inc (NASDAQ: ARQL) announced that their Phase 2 trial of ARQ197(Tivantinib) met its primary endpoint in 2nd-line hepatocellular carcinoma(liver cancer). This was somewhat of a surprising results given the difficulty of treating 2nd-line HCC and previous failures in this disease. There are currently no approved drugs for this indication. The recent […]

ARQL – Initiating Coverage

ArQule Inc.(NASDAQ: ARQL) is a mid-stage small molecule drug company that specializes in the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs). Their in-house drug development program, ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Platform (AKIP™), produced their lead product candidate, ARQ197, a selective small molecule inhibitor of the c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase. With Tivantinib entering Phase 3 trials in non-small cell […]