AVEO – Quick take on top-line data

AVEO Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: AVEO) kicked off the 2012 trading year with news from their Phase 3 trial, TIVO-1. AVEO announced that Tivozanib had demonstrated superiority over sorafenib in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) in TIVO-1, a global, randomized Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tivozanib compared to Nexavar(sorafenib) in patients […]

AIS – “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics”

Anatres Pharma (AIS) has been the subject of biotech stock buzz lately, due to two closely spaced news events concerning the company’s proprietary topical gel products. The failure of LibiGel, a testosterone product for female sexual dysfunction, in phase 3 efficacy trials conducted by their partner BioSante Pharma (BPAX), has grabbed the headlines. While that […]

MITI – Initiate Coverage

Micromet: Initiate Coverage Background: Micromet specializes in the development of cancer drugs based on a new class of therapeutics called “bispecific antibodies.” These novel antibodies are capable of recognizing and binding two different antigens and have been termed “bispecific T-cell engagers” or BiTE antibodies. Bispecific antibodies are part of a new generation of more advanced […]

AVEO – Initiating Coverage

Overview AVEO Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: AVEO) is a clinical stage cancer therapeutics company with 2 main compounds in development. AVEO’s lead candidate, Tivozanib(AV-951), is designed to block the VEGF pathway by inhibiting all three VEGF receptors(1,2,3). Tivozanib is currently being tested in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial called TIVO-1, which is comparing Tivozanib to Onyx’s sorafenib […]

YMI – ASH 2011 Update

YM Bioscience stock surged in after hours trading following their presentation of results from an ongoing multi-center Phase I/II study of the JAK1/2 inhibitor CYT387 for the treatment of Myelofibrosis (MF) at ASH Monday afternoon. Shares jumped to as high as $2.04 in after-hours trading before settling to $1.69 Tuesday. It has since fallen to […]

BPAX – Picking up the pieces

After much anticipation, BioSante Pharma $BPAX released top-line data for the two pivotal phase 3 efficacy data for LibiGel, a testosterone gel for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) on December 14, 2011. Quite simply, the results were disastrous. LibiGel failed to show a significant improvement in the number of satisfying sexual events (SSEs) or sexual […]

INCY – ASH Update: Incyte’s JAK1/2 Inhibitor

ASH Update: Incyte’s JAK1/2 Inhibitor By Patrick Crutcher and Jason Chew On Saturday December 10, we took to the floors of the San Diego Convention Center for the opening rounds of ASH presentations. Today’s focus was mainly on the poster sessions with presenters manning their stations beginning at 5pm. The item we were most interested […]

SPPI – Generic Fusilev fears cause sell-off

Spectrum Pharma $SPPI shares were lower by as much as 10% on Friday 12/9/2011 based on concerns over potential generic competition for their cancer drug Fusilev (levoleucovorin). A flurry of media interviews by management and a press release defending Fusilev’s patent protection helped the stock recover part of its losses by the market close. Fusilev, […]

ACHN – Initiating Coverage

Achillion: Initiating Coverage Background: Achillion is a small biotech focused on the development of a cure for Hepatitis C. It has several compounds in its pipeline, all unpartnered. The two leading products are next-generation protease inhibitors, ACH-1625 and ACH-2684, followed up by a duo of NS5A inhibitors, ACH-2928 and ACH-3102. There has been considerable M&A […]

ARQL – Initiating Coverage

ArQule Inc.(NASDAQ: ARQL) is a mid-stage small molecule drug company that specializes in the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs). Their in-house drug development program, ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Platform (AKIP™), produced their lead product candidate, ARQ197, a selective small molecule inhibitor of the c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase. With Tivantinib entering Phase 3 trials in non-small cell […]