The market is weak but the biotech sector is showing good strength. The large caps seem to be holding up their end of the bargain, which bodes well for this move. I do wonder when the new leg down in oil prices hits the broader market. It seems to be handling it well but if […]
January 28 Biotech Update
Another day with no clear leadership in the space but with a general bid to the sector (until the entire market sold off). I am a little surprised at how long this has lasted but to be fair the sector continues to move higher without clear leadership. What do I mean by the lack of […]
May 15 Biotech Update- The ASCO Deluge Begins
So there is a lot to talk about with the ASCO abstracts and I will divide this up over a couple of days (I am trying to write quickly to get this out so excuse typos and poor grammar for the next couple of days). In general, I think the sense is that these are […]
Dissecting the ASCO 2014 abstract titles
Today, the American Society for Clinical Oncology(ASCO) posted a link to the ASCO 2014 meeting planner[LINK]. The planner also includes all of the abstract titles at the meeting. ASCO 2014 is scheduled to take place from May 30th to June 3rd, 2014. Below we list some of our observations on the oral abstracts. We have […]
Week’s Option Activity (2/04 ~ 2/19)
The following stocks had notable activity in their options during the past week(s): $ARRY (2/4): 2,000 JUN 5.0 strike Puts were sold to open (stock at $4.52) against the purchase (to close) of 2,000 FEB 5.0 strike Puts for net proceeds of $100,000. Seller makes money as long as stock trades above $4.50 by expiration. […]
February 17 Biotech Update- A Presidents Day Bonus
The market is obviously closed today but I wanted to have a brief note because I am not sure I will have time to write anything significant tomorrow. 1. One question that has been in the back of my mind is M&A. I keep expecting to see more as BMY, GILD, PFE, and others have […]
February 5 Biotech Update- How Now Brown Cow?
I said yesterday that I was not convinced that the coast was clear and today shows why. My hunch is that the market is hurting both bulls and bears and the best play is to stay on the sidelines unless a stock comes to you. Forcing a trade or trading out of boredom in the […]
December 17 Daily Biotech Update- What did CEMP say and what is wrong with PCYC?
It was a macro day to a certain extent with the broader market down but biotechs certainly underperformed. There were a few islands of strength but for the most part the entire sector was weak and some significantly so. As I have been saying these moves are noise to a certain extent as the price […]
November 18-EOD
Thankfully there was not a lot of news but biotechs did not just drift lower. I still worry about tax loss selling hitting the sector (or at least the small to mid caps) heading into the end of the year but it is nice to see that the sector can tread water on no news […]
Quick take on Geron’s Imetelstat abstract
Today we finally got a glimpse at the ongoing investigator sponsored study of Geron (GERN) imetelstat in myelofibrosis. We have previously discussed this program here. The abstract can be found here. An oral presentation is scheduled for Monday, December 9th at 4:45 PM. The study was carried out by Dr. Tefferi at the Mayo Clinic. […]
ASH 2013 Preview on Myelofibrosis
This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH13) is highly anticipated for a number of reasons. With the general market for the healthcare/biotech sector at all-time highs on the backs of Pharmacyclic’s Ibrutinib (stock is up 1000% since ASH11), Celgene’s Revlimid (~67% of their $6.3B 2013 revenue) and Amgen’s $10.6B deal for […]
October 3- EOD
Outside of a weak day in the macro which appears mainly related to macro issues, there does not seem to be a ton of news. Biotechs were obviously weak with the broader market but there was some green sprinkled in but they were few and far between. I will highlight a couple of companies but […]
August 22- EOD
A quiet day after the relatively interesting data release of INCY yesterday. Of course, it was forced quiet as the market broke for most of the day. There is really not much new to talk about outside of some positive sentiment in the sector (see the ONXX/AMGN discussion below). Outside of that it is more […]
August 21- Midday
There was certainly some interesting news today with INCY and I wanted to spend time going through the results as they actually raise as many questions as answers. I also wanted to put out my EOD early (so there will not be one after the market closes) in case some of you were interested in […]
Preview of ASCO2013 Take One
With the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) rapidly approaching, we want to take the time to present our highlights of the meeting. This is one of the largest medical meetings investors focus upon in the biotech and healthcare sectors. Before we get into this, we do have some overarching […]
Whats next for ALXN, BMRN, INCY, MDVN, ONXX, REGN, VRTX
First quarter earnings for 2013 are on the horizon. We want to outline some of the main events for some of the larger biotech companies we follow. It can be hard to track the progress of such large companies, but there are meaningful updates still expected in the next 6 months. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) […]
2012 ASH Meeting – Myelofibrosis, Lymphoma, Myeloma
It’s going to be a busy few days at ASH, which begins December 8 in Atlanta. A huge amount of data will be presented; here is an overview of some interesting abstracts. YMI: YM Biosciences Title: Phase I/II Study of CYT387, a JAK1/JAK2 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Myelofibrosis YM Biosciences will present final safety […]
Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments: The Decade Ahead
Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers have seen dramatic improvements in the standard of care over the last 25 years. Prior to the approval of methotrexate (MTX) in 1988, the best that doctors had to offer were NSAIDs and analgesics to manage pain and inflammation. As the first approved disease modifying drug, MTX revolutionized RA treatment and is […]
INCY, LLY – Baricitinib at ACR 2012
Incyte Corp and Eli Lilly participated in an investor meeting following the presentation of Phase II data for their jointly developed JAK inhibitor, baricitinib, at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) on November 13. Baracitinib is a selective and highly potent JAK1/2 inhibitor entering Phase III studies in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The companies described highly […]
Upcoming medical conferences – Q4 2012
With the beginning of November, we enter the home stretch for some of the major medical meetings that will serve as pivotal events for some companies. We have attempted to list some of the higher profile conferences, but it’s entirely possible that some will slip by us. November American Heart Association(AHA) Scientific Sessions – 11/3 […]
