Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) announced results from the BP-004 multicenter clinical trial for children with Primary Immune Deficiencies (PIDs) and hemoglobinopathies. The candidates received an add-back of Bellicum’s BPX-501 modified T cells following a haploidentical, T cell-depleted hematopoietic stem cell transplant (haplo-HSCT). The data were presented in oral and poster sessions today during the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Results: All …

Prohost Biotech On   ARRAY PHARMACEUTICALS Under the title “Halozyme has Good News and Array Too”, we wrote the following about Array On Nov. 5, 2015. Array’s (ARRY) internal, broad based drug discovery and research technological capabilities is behind the creation of its small molecule therapeutics. Array’s know-how and expertise led it to build a library of therapeutics for advanced cancers and other diseases. Array’s library’s therapeutic molecules are expected …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed the partial clinical hold it put on Adaptiimmune’s (ADAP) planned study of its NY‑ESO SPEAR™ (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell therapy in myxoid round cell liposarcoma (MRCLS). The move cleared Adaptimmune to start enrolling patients with the MRCLS cancer in a trial of NY‑ESO T-cell therapy partnered with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Adaptimmune will initiate a study …

The media failure to forecast the results of the Presidential election has become the talk of the town and of the failed media itself. The New York Times’ article about this forecast fiasco titled “How Data Failed Us In Calling An Election” was great, showing that forecasting science is still immature to bring accurate results. The article stated that the failure in predicting the winner …

Biogen (BIIB) and Ionis (IONS) announced that Spinraza (nusinersen), an antisense drug designed and developed by Ionis met its primary endpoint in Phase 3 trial of the CHERISH Study in later-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). This was the second positive Phase 3 study that provides evidence of Spinraza’s efficacy and favorable safety. The data demonstrate statistically significant and clinically meaningful results.   Children receiving Spinraza …

Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA): Good news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) affirmed that the agency accepted for review Ariad’s New Drug Application (NDA) for its investigational oral anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor, brigatinib for patients with metastatic ALK-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed after being treated with crizotinib. The NDA submission includes clinical data from its Phase 1/2 and …

Results from trials were negative in two phase 2 studies for Gilead (GILD) experimental drug GS-4997 (selonsertib) intended to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). But the same drug selonsertib showed it might hit the jackpot when results demonstrated it succeeded in treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is also known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, where, according to Gilead, it showed …

At the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2016) in London, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) and Incyte (INCY) presented data from RA-BEYOND study, demonstrating that their drug baricitinib was superior to placebo at inhibiting progressive radiographic joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A key goal of rheumatoid arthritis treatment is to impede the structural damage that this disease usually causes to the …

EXELIXIS APPROVED PRODUCTS 1. CABOMETYX™(CABOZANTINIB) For Exelixis (EXEL) the two approved oncology products cabozantinib and cobimetinib and its pipeline of promising investigational products are considered now by more analysts a wealth that will be reflected in the firm’s future growth. The results emanating from the clinical trials of two approved products should not be underestimated. The latest of the good news emanated from the firm’s …

News about investigational drugs, which are expected to make big differences in the lives of people with chronic diseases and deadly diseases does not always materialize. Predicting drugs becoming breakthroughs has proven extremely difficult in the early phases of drugs’ development. Some products keep doing well, going from the preclinical testing into several phases of trials then all of a sudden they unexpectedly fail. They …

EXELIXIS (EXEL) Friends and subscribers are asking the following question for more than two weeks now: Why EXEL stock has rallied? Most of those who asked the question owned the stock and made a lot of profit on it. The truth is that those investors wanted to know whether it was time for them to take their profit and enjoy it elsewhere. In other words; …

The FDA approval of Sarepta’s (SRPT) Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) product, Exondys 51 (eteplirsen), surprised many analysts. Nonetheless, it doubled SRPT's price after the stock had already multiplied everal folds since the stock had been cremated. Good for those who dared to bet on SRPT in spite of the FDA’s independent advisory committee’s voting against the approval and the FDA hesitation to listen to the …

The FDA announced what made Clovis Oncology (CLVS) shareholders believe that the bad times might have ended for the firm and a new era is beginning. The announcement was about the FDA decision not to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for drug rucaparib aimed at treating advanced ovarian cancer. The regulatory agency had already granted rucaparib a …

Xoma’s (XOMA) webcast and conference call scheduled for September 15, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 p.m. EDT) is important and should be interesting to the firm’s shareholders. The conference call will provide an update on what’s going on in the Phase 2 trial of XOMA 358, the firm’s drug, which aims at treating congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and hypoglycemia post-bariatric surgery (PBS). The Drug and …

At the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 in Rome, Italy, Array Biopharma (ARRY) presented good results from a Phase 2 study of its drug ARRY-797 - an oral, selective p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor for patients with a rare degenerative cardiovascular disease. The disease, is known as lamin A/C-related dilated cardiomyopathy (LMNA-related DCM) and is caused by mutations in the LMNA gene and is …

Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH) Is Fexapotide the Safest and Effective Prostate Cancer Preventative? That’s what Nymox Pharmaceutical (NYMX) announced in its recent press release stating that results from from 7-year prospective placebo controlled double blind studies of treatment of 995 U.S. men with its lead drug fexapotide were positive. According to the press release, men who received fexapotide showed a major reduction in the incidence …

Pfizer accepted to pay $14 billion in cash to acquire Medivation. It is important for investors to know what Pfizer is after with regard to this acquisition so that investors could sense the current deep-pocketed biopharmaceutical firms’ preferences in selecting their takeover targets. Recognizing the facts behind Pfizer’s decision could also protect investors from being mislead by negative bloggers who, while serving their own agendas, …

JAMA Publishes Positive Phase 3 Data for Abaloparatide in Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis The Company is Radius Health (RDUS) and the new expected to be soon approved drug, abaloparatide, is an investigational therapy for the potential treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis who are at an increased risk for a fracture. It is a novel synthetic peptide that engages the parathyroid hormone receptor (PTH1 receptor) …

What’s Going on the Morning of Thursday, August 18, 2016? PORTOLA Portola Pharmaceuticals (PTLA) announced the receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA regarding its Biologics License Application (BLA) for AndexXa™ (andexanet alfa). An FDA-designated Breakthrough Therapy, AndexXa is in development for patients treated with a direct (apixaban, rivaroxaban, or edoxaban) or indirect (enoxaparin) Factor Xa inhibitor when reversal of anticoagulation is …

GILEAD & GENMAB To Access Genmab’s (GEN) bispecific antibody technology, Gilead (GILD) signed a new agreement with Genmab. The King of HIV treatment objective is to use its exclusive license from Genmab to produce an HIV bispecific monoclonal antibody therapeutic. Gilead is paying around $5 million in upfront payment and up to $277 million in milestones. Genmab will also be entitled to one-digit royalty of …