December 16 Biotech Update

We have a decent news morning but I want to focus on three and can do so with a Western theme: the good, the bad, and the ugly. 1. The good: Clearly this is AMRN. We got an early Christmas present with an expanded label. They did not get the primary prevention but also seemed […]

December 13 Biotech Update

There is some news today so I will do a quick Friday note. 1. ATNX had their data and it showed a statistically significant OS improvement. We are getting a little sell the news for a couple of reasons. First, the stock had a good run into these data. Second, the data are not perfect. […]

December 3rd Biotech Update

The broader market backdrop is not nearly as positive with some China fears creeping into the market but the sector remains strong. I still think the stock reactions to ASH data this weekend will go a long way in signaling expectations and whether they have become extended. So for me I will be watching not […]

November 6 Biotech Update

We remain in what seems like the trend. Day three of the pullbacks tends to be when we restart the move higher but yesterday ended marginally green instead of red so it is not completely predictable. In any case, we are getting close to what should be the higher low and expect a reversal today […]

September 25th Biotech Update

I sound like a repeating record but the news have been pretty slow. I thought it was possible that the sector would break out higher but clearly that was not the case. It will be interesting to see how we respond today as we are now closer to some support. The market honestly seems a […]

September 24 Biotech Update

News remains slow but the macro remains in the background. There is a chance that China trade tensions ease (only before rising again) and Iran is fading into the memory (but this is not over yet). Unfortunately, the market is rallying a little but the sector seems stuck in the mud. It is a little […]

September 17 Biotech Update

So I was thinking that any response to the attacks on Saudi Arabia would happen sooner rather than later but I am no longer convinced that remains the case.  Clearly Saudi Arabia was taken by surprise and so it needs to tighten its defenses before escalating the situation (if they choose to escalate).  A kinetic […]

August 21 Biotech Update

Broadly speaking the sector and market are doing well. Sentiment has been pretty negative and there were some macro concerns. This seems to be easing a bit, so a rally might be in the offing but how many times have we been burning at the start of rallies with some new macro concern jumping to […]

August 20th Biotech Update

So I do not want to spend a lot of time on macro or the sector as it is the same but we do have some really important news to discuss that is both stock and sector important. 1. SRPT received a CRL. This was a surprise both to me and the company. According to […]

August 19th Biotech News

The market seems to be in a good mood to start the week and I would argue it remains macro driven. I think the hope is that central banks and governments are about to undertake a series of actions meant to stimulate the global economy. Of course, these sort of expectations can be like sugar […]

August 15 Biotech Update

While the macro has been major the past couple of days, the sector specific news has been pretty sparse. I was hoping something interesting would happen to write about but there really is nothing major. It does make it a little easier to trade in that we will be sucked up in the macro maelstrom […]

August 9th Biotech Update

It has been 24 hours of surprises culminating in my daughters school bus not showing up this morning but that is the least of the surprises. Interestingly, the broader sector is actually holding up despite the series of negative surprises but let us dive into the news. 1. AMRN is perhaps the biggest surprise. It […]

August 8 Biotech Update

What macro brings down macro can bring up. The sector seems to be trading right in line with the broader markets but hopefully we see some acceleration of the sector given the positive news that needs to be digested. 1. SRPT is lower on the earnings release. The revenues were fine and in line. SRPT […]

July 19th Biotech Update

I am back and need to catch up on the overall market and some sector news. I do want to focus today on a stock we all know and will have more broader sector commentary next week. I do think the sector is set up for a major move as it looks to have been […]

DMD Data by Giant Pharma Pfizer Kept Sarepta In the Driver Seat with Superior Drug

Pfizer (PFE) presented its first set of data (n=6) from the mini-dystrophin gene therapy for DMD (PF-06939926) at the PPMD conference on June 28th. Much speculations surrounded Pfizer’s decision to report the dystrophin quantification using mass-spec. Sarepta (SRPT) has used WB-western blot since 2015 during the Eteplirsen FDA approval process. Sarepta has also used it in […]

June 28th Biotech Update

A good finish to the week so far in the sector. I will try and keep this quick and to the point as it is a little delayed because of waiting on the PFE data. The wait appears to have been worth it. 1. The PFE data looking inferior on both efficacy and safety. The […]

June 18th Biotech Update

We got a very nice follow through during the day yesterday for the sector. That is exactly what you wanted to see and ideally it continues for the next couple days. We certainly do not need it to be as strong as it was yesterday but we need to break the strong day followed immediately […]

May 14 Biotech Update

I am not sure who had a more difficult day yesterday. You all for having to watch another market meltdown over China fears (and others) or me who had to help chaperone a middle school trip to New Orleans. In any case, we have all survived and the market seems to be bouncing this morning. […]

May 9 Biotech Update

Macro seems to once again dominate the trading with both Iran and China increasing the risk and both North Korea and Venezuela just below the surface. The odds remain that we muddle through these crises but one cannot ignore the risks that these present especially because the Iran and China situations could potentially be very […]

May 1 Biotech Update

The sector continues to lag. What I see as a little odd is that pharma appears to be outperforming biotech. If Medicare for All was going to collapse the US drug market, why would pharma be immune and be doing well? It is an odd disconnect and speaks to something else going on in the […]