With ASCO approaching and some major market moving events, I just wanted to provide some perspective with earnings season almost over. – I get the impression that ASCO will be largely focused on how Bristol-Myers’ competition is looking and whether a viable dosing regimen of Yervoy+Nivolumab in non-small cell lung cancer can be found that […]
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 […]
Corcept – Fourth time a charm?
Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) is currently awaiting topline Phase III data for Korlym(mifepristone) in psychotic depression in the second quarter. Currently, Corcept projects Korlym will do net revenue between $24-$28 million under it’s limited label for endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, a rare condition in which the adrenal glands overproduce cortisol. Below you will find an assessment of […]
Upcoming events for Merck
Members of Chimera Research Group have successfully been trading Merck for the past few months, especially Joe Gantos(@GantosJ). Merck has been one of the strongest big pharmas over the past few month on the heels of pipeline developments. With a new year, we want to provide a road map for what’s to come in the […]
Upcoming events for Pfizer
Pfizer (PFE) isn’t traditionally on my watchlist as a name to follow, however, this may be an exception. Palbocicib is likely the most exciting pipeline product in development at Pfizer right now. It received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA in April 2013 for the treatment of breast cancer, following very encouraging Phase 2 results […]
A look at Auspex Pharma
Lately, it seems like there is a new biotech IPO being filed every other day. Today, we want to take a look at a recent IPO, Auspex Pharmaceuticals (ASPX). Auspex recently raised 7 million shares at $12 per share and has roughly 22.5 million shares outstanding. It is currently valued around $550 million in market […]
Update on Protalix
On Wednesday, Protalix (PLX) will present data from their phase I clinical trial of oral glucocerebrosidase (GCD), or Oral GCD (PRX-112), in patients with Gaucher disease. The presentation will be at 1:15pm PST at the Lysosomal Storage Disease Network WORLD Symposium (LDN WORLD). While Sanofi/Genzyme are nearing potential approval of Cerdelga (eliglustat), the data should […]
Prospects for Prana's PBT2
On the wildly speculative front, Prana Biotechnology (PRAN) is a developer of metal protein attenuating compounds(MPAC) for neurodegenerative disorders. Shares are up over 350% in the past year as the company has neared readouts from 2 Phase 2 studies of their lead product, PBT2. The first is a small, 12-month study in 40 patients with […]
Upcoming Phase 3 trials
With a fresh start to 2014 and the biotech market still very strong, we wanted to examine some upcoming Phase 3 results that will be in focus in the first quarter. Expectations for some of these trials varies widely. We have a blend of small biotech to big pharma. Company: Merck (MRK) and Amgen (AMGN) […]
A look at Innate Pharma
Immuno-oncology was one of the hottest themes of 2013 and its been almost entirely a big pharma story. We saw Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and Roche reveal more data and future plans for their PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. It’s going to be the hottest theme for awhile, so we want to highlight one company that has […]
TSRO – A look at Tesaro
Following additional information released at ASCO 2013 and their recent quarterly updated, we wanted to take a moment to talk about Tesaro (TSRO). Since their IPO, Tesaro’s stock is up roughly 186% at a fully diluted marketcap of $1.22 billion (@ $35 per share) based on roughly 35 million shares outstanding. Tesaro’s pipeline consists of […]
Horizon Pharma continues cash burn and dilution
We last wrote on Horizon Pharma (NASDAQ: HZNP) following their FDA approval of RAYOS, but seems not much has changed. However, the stock has risen roughly 60% year to date with no apparent change in fundamentals. We view this company as overvalued given their products exorbitant price, no data to support superiority claims over cheap […]
ASH 2013 Preview on ALL/CML/MDS/AML
This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH13) is highly anticipated for a number of reasons. The first series in our preview covered what to expect in multiple myeloma. Today’s preview will focus on some of the moves going in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), […]
ASH 2013 Preview on Lymphoid Malignancies
This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology(ASH13) is highly anticipated for a number of reasons. Pharmacyclic’s Ibrutinib could be viewed as one of the several catalysts sparking the biotech sector’s run the past 2 years. They are now within months of receiving approval for 2 indications where they could benefit patient lives […]
ASH 2013 Preview on rare blood disorders
This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH13) is highly anticipated for a number of reasons. Orphan diseases has been a key element in the bull market in biotech over the past 2-3 years. Consider that the market for hemophilia A treatments in 2011 was over $5 billion alone. Today’s preview will […]
ASH 2013 Preview on Multiple Myeloma
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 […]
CLDX – A look at CDX-1127
Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) has one of the most anticipated data releases amongst small biotech companies this fall. They are scheduled to present data from their Phase 1 dose-escalation trial of a CDX-1127 (CD27, a T-cell stimulator) at the annual meeting of the Society for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer(SITC), November 7-10th. We will also likely see some […]
Datasets in focus at IASLC this weekend
This weekend is the 15th annual World Conference on Lung Cancer, sponsored by tge International Assoc. for The Study Of Lung Cancer (IASLC). It takes place Sunday October 27th through Wednesday 30th (Site). Abstracts can be found here. In particular, we want to speak briefly about 7 presentations. PD1 inhibitors Bristol-Myers (BMY), Merck (MRK) and Roche (RHHBY) […]
Biocryst up on hope(hype) for HAE prophylaxis
In a previous post, Jason Chew provided some background and analysis on Biocryst (BCRX) BCX4161, an oral drug candidate for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE). Biocryst’s stock is up 300%+ since July of this year on the back’s of Phase 1 trial of BCX4161 in healthy volunteers. With that said, we do question some […]
MDVN – Confusion over PREVAIL data explained in a single graph
On Tuesday, the market was rather confused on what to make of the PREVAIL news. To be clear, this wasn’t entirely the market’s fault: Medivation released a poorly worded press release that did not convey the whole story. A little extra detail would have gone a long way. From the press release, we know that […]
