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 […]
March 26 Biotech Update
The sector has had a nice sharp pullback that has challenged sentiment a little. I was a little surprised about how quickly sentiment got negative yesterday as we have had a pretty solid move higher. It seems that sentiment is a little more fragile under the surface than I thought. In some ways that is […]
March 21 Biotech Update
This will certainly be a bad day for the large cap but I would not be surprised to see the XBI outperform if not eventually turn green as M&A fever hits the space. The BIIB failure is large and important for a number of reasons, which I will go through today. 1. While many did […]
February 27 Biotech Update
We still have not gapped and went, so I would think that possibility is lowering but I would not completely discount it. We have some positive news today in the SMID space that could trigger another round of buying but time is running out for the go part of the gap and go. 1. SRPT […]
Sarepta – LGMD2E Data May Become the Next Inflection Point
Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) has a long history with several inflection points through the years. Moving upward from a penny stock back in the days they used to be called AVI Biopharma, through the first inflection point and stepping under the spotlight with first real eteplirsen success, meeting the primary endpoint of increase dystrophin and achieving […]
February 21 Biotech Update
Resistance is acting like resistance. It looked early that we might be peaking above it but clearly that is not the case. These sort of false breakouts (and breakdowns) are killers in range bound markets as it can get one to trade too early. My mantra in these scenarios is that the sector will be […]
February 7 Biotech Update
We start off a little weak this morning, which is not completely unexpected given that we are at the top end of the recent range. Obviously it would be nice to see a breakout above the range to start another leg higher but range bound trading after the recent run is not bad at this […]
January 8 Biotech Update
The sector is ripping higher the past couple days, which makes sense given the news flow. I thought the XBI could hit $80 and it did. This is an area of some resistance and the question is whether or not this momentum could actually carry it to the $85 area. Over the near term I […]
December 11 Biotech Update
The market did a lot better to start the week than I would have thought and that strength continues today. At this point, I think everyone does not really trust the market (I fall in that camp) but does that mean then that the sellers on this pop get burned? Everyone expects the move higher […]
December 7 Biotech Update
The market can always surprise and I was surprised yesterday with the sector strength. The broader market did better than I expected but the sector clearly outperformed. It is only a day but if we see continued strength today then one has to read these days as a strong signal in the near term. I […]
November 8 Biotech Update
Not a lot going on but there are a couple of quick points I want to make today. 1. AKAO is having the completely predictable slow antibiotic launch. You will never see these launch like anti-virals or oncology drugs. Simply being approved does not mean they will be used as hospitals have to review it […]
October 25 Biotech Update
Yesterday was brutal and there is really little to say about it as we are clearly in the middle of a massive correction if not outright bear market. I suspect that we are closer to the end than the beginning but that does not mean we could not see another 10% lower from these levels […]
October 15 Biotech Update
Tell me if you heard this story before. Merger Monday and nothing happens in biotech. We have essentially run out of excuses as it was the political uncertainty and then it was tax reform. Neither are issues at the moment and we still have nothing happening. Are valuations in public companies still too high? Have […]
October 10 Biotech Update
I do not think there is much to say today outside of the obvious. The market is not looking good and we seem to be entering (or in the midst) of a broad market correction that is going to take everything down with it. Fundamentals are not going to matter in the near term. It […]
