The sector still cannot gain real footing and follow positive days with additional positive days. That being said as long as the positive days either outnumber or have higher gains than the losing day loses, then we can churn higher (or at the very least churn sideways and build a nice base). I am sure […]
November 18 Biotech Update
It seems like every time I am out of town something major happens. I have not really followed the sector trading, so I cannot really comment on that but obviously there is some major news that will be the focus of a couple of articles. 1. As much as one tries to avoid blowups, if […]
November 13 Biotech Update
It has been a tough couple of days with pretty broad weakness but we will see how we end the week as many stocks have had a decent run so a pause is not unexpected (or bearish- yet). I am still not convinced the rallies have not been short covering and if we are to […]
November 11 Biotech Update
The market seems mixed and searching for direction. It seems hard to see a clear trend in the sector or within the sector. Some large caps are strong and others weak. Some SMID are strong and others weak. Perhaps this is the start of my “stock picking” thesis playing out but it could also simply […]
LOXO: Staying On TRK
Loxo Oncology presented highly anticipated results from its ongoing Phase 1 study of TRK inhibitor LOXO-101 yesterday November 8, in a latebreaker at AACR-NCI-EORTC; they did not disappoint. Disclosure of a response from just one patient with diagnosed TRK fusion mutation in a July publication of Cancer Discovery set much of this excitement in motion. […]
November 9 Biotech Update
My daughter made it through surgery with flying colors, so I have time for a quick note. I do not want to focus on individual companies but a broader theme that could be developing. Are we seeing the end of biotech leadership, why, and what does it mean? 1. Broadly speaking, I would argue that […]
November 6 Biotech Update
Despite some additional M&A news the sector is off to a weak start. I suspect this eventually reverses today but would also take it as a strong signal if we remain weak or weaken further throughout the day. 1. It seems like only the day before the abstract release that I was talking about larger […]
November 4 Biotech Update
The sector certainly seems to be getting it legs back. The SMID are finally starting to get a bid (even if it is partly driven by short covering but it has to start somewhere). In addition, earnings have been good and now we are entering a period of both data catalysts and a seasonally positive […]
November 2 Biotech Update
We finally get a merger Monday of sorts although only one of the deals is a public company. It will be telling to a certain extent how the SMIDs respond to the deals. I (and many others) thought that we need a pickup in M&A to spark additional interest in the space as well as […]
The XBI In The Take Or Break Zone!
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)–NYSE We will maintain our focus on the XBI as the biotech barometer. After the double bottom around 59 points a month ago, the XBI start printing a higher high and a higher low, the first step in the new uptrend that we are looking for. Looking again at […]
SRPT: Better The Devil You Know
The Bull/Bear tussle in Sarepta has been ongoing for years now. Long term investors have ridden a rollercoaster as excitement has inevitably been followed by disappointment. Its Exon 51 skipping drug eteplirsen is set for an Advisory Committee meeting January 22, 2016 with the PDUFA date tentatively set for February 26. A war of words […]
Global Blood Therapeutics: Targeting Sickle Cell Disease
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is a recent graduate of Third Rock Ventures, a highly regarded firm with a list of innovative portfolio companies including Bluebird Bio, Foundation Medicine, Agios, and Sage Therapeutics. The company’s most advanced program is a compound in Phase 1 for the treatment of patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Sickle cell disease […]
October 29 Biotech Update
As I noted before, it appears that the sector is improving and while I would not say it has turned, I would argue that the odds are better that the next large move will be higher rather than lower. This would especially be the case if we start to see M&A pick up. The potential […]
October 28 Biotech Update
The sector seems to be getting its feet but unevenly and in fits and starts. It looks like the large caps are probably the most consistent outperformers with some strong SMID names but as a group it is much more mixed. We continue to be in earnings seasons and likely explains the outperformance of the […]
October 26 Biotech Update
I really thought the week would start with more of a bang but it seems much more like a whimper. Sure we had more VRX news/speculation but we really did not learn anything that new. The bears are bears and the bulls are hiding and most have no clue what exactly is going on. The […]
October 23 Biotech Update
Unfortunately, the discussion for the sector continues to revolve around specialty pharma. This has brought the sector down (although perhaps not down as far as we would have thought, so perhaps that is a positive) and generated significant underperformance to the broader market. At some point, the negative headlines for the sector will end and […]
October 21 Biotech Update
The sector continues to be under pressure, although we seem to be staying above the recent lows which remains critical. We are entering earnings season and it will be interesting to see if earnings without M&A is enough to spark buying. My base case is good earnings will be enough to stop the decline but […]
October 19 Biotech Update
Another slow start to a week with expectations of merger Mondays once again dashed. The only real news was the VRX earnings, which is where we will focus today. VRX is one of many earnings that we will analyze to see not only how the fundamentals of the sectors perform but also how the stocks […]
October 16 Biotech Update
Some interesting news that I want to focus on today. It seems that sentiment is finally starting to turn as the sector is rallying even though we have some less than bullish news events. Obviously every recent rally has been sold, so it will take some time before we can get comfort that the pattern […]
Raptor Pharma: Of Cystinosis and Huntingtons
Raptor Pharmaceuticals is a small Novato, CA. company that markets Procysbi for the treatment of nephropathic cystinosis. It has active clinical trials in Huntington’s Disease and Leigh Syndrome. A recent acquisition has provided entry into the Cystic Fibrosis field. Procysbi- also known as RP103- took a different route to market from that of most newly […]
