THE BIOTECH EVOLUTION: AN UNPARALLELED SPEED The Tremendous Regret Investors Will Feel If They Sell the Best of the Best Biotechnology Firms Only Because the Market Is Weird   Even if one is scared and feels he should sell shares, he must be wise enough to select those stocks whose prices are closer to reaching the targets he estimated as representing their fair values. Biotech investors who lend their ears to …

Alnylam (ALN) is probably experiencing a stock selloff following the announcement of successful results from Pfizer’s (PFE) drug tafamidis.    Indeed, results from Phase 3 ATT-ACT clinical trial demonstrate that tafamidis succeeded in treating Transthyretin Cardiomyopathy, a subtype of TTR amyloidosis caused by the destabilization of the protein transthyretin. Tafamidis demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in all-cause mortality and frequency of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations compared to placebo at 30 months. The drug was …

IN THE NEWS PTC THERAPEUTICS  PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) stock, which dipped yesterday, probably on news announcing a public offering of 4,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $27.04 per share. Yesterday, in a crazy market that looked as if the bull and bear are boxers knocking each other down every 10 minutes, PTCT lost around $5. The stock seems to rebound in today’s premarket …

Exelixis: Delightful Overseas Cabozantinib News Ipsen (EPA:IPN) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided a positive opinion for Exelixis’ (EXEL) product Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) 20, 40, 60 mg regarding the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate- or poor- risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). The CHMP positive opinion will be reviewed by the European Commission (EC), which has the …

In spite of their successes, Immuno-oncology products, which we still like to call immunotherapy for several reasons, are a work in progress. The most two highlighted approaches that enable the immune system to clear cancers are the checkpoint inhibition and the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T) genetically engineered immune system T cells therapies. Therapeutic vaccines had some successes, but the outcome was inferior to the two approaches that have …

What Do We Make of the Following Good News? HERON THERAPEUTICS Will HTX-011 Help in the War Against Opioids?  Heron Therapeutics (HRTX), a commercial-stage biotechnology company announced positive results from its completed Phase 3 studies of the investigational agent HTX-011 in people undergoing bunionectomy and hernia repair. HTX-011 is described as the first and only long-acting local anesthetic to demonstrate in Phase 3 studies significantly reduced pain …

Alnylam (ALNY) announced that Sanofi Genzyme declined its opt-in for the development and commercialization of the RNAi product lumasiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 (PH1). Based on this decision, Alnylam intends to rapidly advance lumasiran into a Phase 3 pivotal study in late 2018, and to commercialize lumasiran globally, assuming product approval. Alnylam has also announced that the FDA has granted lumasiran …

Regeneron’s (REGN) pipeline products have still a lot of good news to announce. The latest is about its product Dupixant (dupilumab) which has already been FDA approved for atopic dermatitis. Now, there are reasons to believe that this drug could be also approved as an add-on maintenance for people with moderate to severe Asthma. The news has come from both Regeneron and its partner Sanofi (SNY), stating that …

FERTILITY Fertility is what guarantees the presence of humans on the planet Earth. The reproductive system in men and women are the engines of fertility that creates living beings. These important engines get disturbed in some people, which represents a problem that needs repair. Life sciences arts have done a good job towards overcoming the causes that would prevent a couple from bearing children. Still …

Portola Pharmaceuticals and the CHMP’s Oral Explanations for Andexanet Alfa and Betrixaban Portola (PTLA) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has communicated a positive trend vote on the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Portola’s factor Xa inhibitor antidote andexanet alfa. The agency has also communicated a negative trend vote for betrixaban, the firm’s oral, Factor Xa inhibitor. Andexanet Alfa Bill Lis, the chief executive officer …

Seattle Genetics and Pieris pharmaceutical Collaboration Agreement Pieris Pharmaceuticals (PIRS) and Seattle Genetics (SGEN) signed a multi-program immuno-oncology collaboration agreement intended to evaluate novel bi-specific immuno-oncology agents. These agents would combine Pieris’ Anticalin proteins drugs with Seattle Genetics’ targeted antibodies to develop multiple targeted bi-specific immuno-oncology treatments for both solid and blood cancers. The Story Pieris Pharmaceuticals created recombinant engineered Anticalin protein-based therapeutics. These proteins are versions of the human protein lipocalin, which naturally bind, …

Expected or not, we believe that the news announcing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval Vertex’s (VRTX) cystic fibrosis combo product Symdeko™ (tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor) is good news. It is indeed excellent news for the many cystic fibrosis people ages 12 and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis trans-membrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene or who have at least one mutation that …

A Stanford research team investigating a new immunotherapy approach, which consists of injecting tiny amounts of two immuno-stimulating molecules directly into the cancers themselves, announced good news. The first of the two injections contained a CpG oligonucleotide a short stretch of DNA that promotes the expression of OX40, a protein that resides on the surface of the immune system’s T cells. The second injection comprised an antibody that binds …

Vertex (VRTX) announced the selection of two next-generation correctors, VX-659 and VX-445, to advance into Phase 3 development as part of two different triple combination regimens for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The decision was based on data from initial Phase 2 trials, including new data from ongoing Phase 2 studies demonstrating mean absolute improvements in percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second from baseline through four weeks of treatment …

ChemoCentryx (CCXI) develops new drugs for inflammatory, autoimmune diseases and cancers. The firm’s approach comprises targeting the chemokine and chemoattractant systems with the aim of discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapies for inflammation and malignancy and maybe other disease conditions. In the News A few days ago, ChemoCentryx announced positive overall survival (OS) results from Phase Ib clinical trial of its second CCR2 inhibitor drug CCX872 designed for the treatment of locally advanced/metastatic pancreatic cancer and …

Amgen (AMGN): Phase 3b results from LIBERTY study assessing the safety and efficacy of Aimovig™(erenumab) 140 mg in patients with an episodic migraine who had experienced two to four previous preventive treatment failures demonstrate that the study met its primary and secondary endpoints.    With regard to meeting the primary endpoint, the results demonstrate that patients on Aimovig experienced at least a 50 percent reduction from baseline in …

Acorda (ACOR) stock was up around 10% reaching over $28 in premarket trading. The stock is trading now around $27 with its gains oscillating between $2 – $2.20. The enthusiasm for ACOR seems to be about rumors that Biogen (BIIB) or possibly other Asian drug makers might have demonstrated the interest in Acorda. What’s going on with Acorda? In June 2017, the stock rallied on news about positive clinical trial …

Checkpoint inhibitors approved for a few firms as immunotherapy for cancer are increasingly demonstrating their superiority in extending the lives of patients when given as first-line treatments. In the news, Merck’s (MRK) anti-PD-1 therapy, pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) in combination with pemetrexed (Alimta®) and cisplatin or carboplatin, for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), met its dual primary endpoints of overall survival …

VERTEX From Europe, Vertex (VRTX) was informed that the European Commission has granted an extension of the Marketing Authorization for ORKAMBI® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor). Orkambi is for cystic fibrosis (CF) in people with two copies of the F508del mutation, including children ages 6 through 11 Reimbursement: In countries such as Ireland, reimbursement agreements will lead to rapid access to ORKAMBI. In other countries across the European Union, Vertex will begin a country-by-country reimbursement process. Clinical trial Results …

On Dec. 12, 2017, Denali Therapeutics (DNLI) announced the closing of its initial public offering of 15,972,221 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $18.00 per share. On January 5, 2018, less than one month since it closed the public offering, Denali and Takeda (TSE:4502) announced entering into a strategic option and collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize up to three specified therapeutic product candidates for neurodegenerative …