We do expect some selling of Array today after AstraZeneca’s announced negative results from Phase 3 SELECT-1 trial of the MEK inhibitor, selumetinib, in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy as 2nd-line treatment for KRAS mutation-positive (KRASm) locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The results did not meet the trial’s primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), and did not demonstrate overall survival (OS). These results, …

Important news is the news that informs about successful achievements that make a difference in treating life-threatening diseases, chronic diseases and diseases with no available treatments. Sometime you might not have a personal interest in one, or another or even all the mentioned firms in the news. For investors in the biotech sector, however, it is good to know the successful treatments that might be …

Underestimating the Value of Drugs that Disrupt the DNA Repair Mechanisms in Cancer Cells. AstraZeneca’s (AZN) Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said that while DNA damage response was under-recognized by investors, oncologists were already “very excited” by its potential of the drugs targeting DNA repair mechanisms inside cancer cells. According to AstraZeneca, drugs that disrupt the DNA repair mechanisms inside cancer cells are showing tangible promise for …

Prohost Letter #395 On the Road TO DEFEATING CANCER - Results of cancer treatment with novel immunotherapy drugs suggest that the hope of conquering cancer has improved from doubtful to conceivable. Immunotherapy treatments are scoring unprecedented successes against a wide variety of malignancies, including liquid cancers, solid cancers, cancers with DNA mutations caused by viruses and other cancer-causing agents. The two Immunotherapy approaches are currently occupying …

Medivation is a Target for Acquisition The Question is: Who Will Acquire Medivation? Sanofi has made a bid to acquire Medivation for $9.3 billion (£6.37B). Sanofi is expected to pay $52.50 per share in cash for Medivation. Why Medivation? Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said, "Thanks to Medivation's excellent prostate cancer treatments, we believe that a merger with Medivation would benefit patients and, at the same time, create value …

The AACR 2016 meeting presentations differed substantially from previous meetings. The  2016 meeting has brought near certainty that, indeed, defeating cancer is a reachable objective. The road is lengthy, but the speed in analyzing the data and acting upon them towards improvement is unprecedented. You will find the most important information about the AACR cancer meeting in the upcoming Prohost Letter. In the NEWS TAPIMMUNE …

Prohost Letter #393 IMMUNOTHERAPY - PROHOST PORTFOLIO - NEW PICKS? - A Brief Reminder of the CAR T –TCR Immunotherapy Approaches In this issue we continue our journey inside the territory of cancer immunotherapy. We remind that in the Prohost Letter issue #391, we dealt with the immunotherapy based on genetically engineered T Cells, enabling them to seek out, attack and neutralize cancer cells. The immune system’s T …

Recent Breakthrough Designated Products CANCER Acute Myeloid Leukemia PKC412 (midostaurin) developed by Novartis AG (NVS) is an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 mutations. It is also being studied for aggressive systemic mastocytosis/mast cell leukemia. FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) is a cell-surface receptor for tyrosine kinase, which has a role in the upsurge of certain blood cell types. The drug has positive data …

Prohost Letter #390 COMPANIES USING CRISPR GENE EDITING TOOLS - The Firms Launched with CRISPR Patents Either Pending or Disputed! What Does This Mean? What are these Firms’ Priorities? But First: A Reminder In the last issue, Prohost #389, we pinpointed the gene editing technologies and techniques and demonstrated the difference between gene editing, which is genetic engineering, i.e., making changes in the genes themselves, and antisense …

In The NEWS IMMUNOTHERAPY MIRATI THERAPEUTICS Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX) is an oncology company focusing on genetic and epigenetic drivers of cancer. The firm’s clinical stage product candidates include MGCD265, a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor that is in Phase 1b clinical development trials for the treatment of solid tumors, including lung, head and neck, and gastric cancers; MGCD516, a kinase inhibitor, which is in Phase 1 clinical …

Prohost Letter #375 Part 1 BIOTECHNOLOGY: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA STATE- OF-THE-ART APPROACHES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC AND DEADLY DISEASES ARE IN HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS We are encouraged by some novel treatments for chronic diseases and cancer and we are optimistic about results coming from their early- and late-phase trials. Picking advanced therapeutics is the magic word Sesame in the formula “Open Sesame”, which, …