Biotech Breakfast – Healthcare Equities Lower; GSK, Pfizer Gain and Moderna Slides as RSV Vaccine Trends in Sharp Focus
Friday was an uneventful day for healthcare equities which finished the session lower overall, with Healthcare down (0.29%) versus the S&P 500 which gained +0.08%. Most major health groups ended lower, including Moderna ($MRNA), which saw early gains erased as its RSV remains under review by FDA and is not expected to arrive until next season. UnitedHealth Group ($UNH) highlighted the strong uptake of RSV by seniors, sparking RSV vaccine makers to outperform their peers on the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) GSK plc ($GSK) rose +1.2% and Pfizer ($PFE) gained +1.1%.
In research news, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals ($REGN) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets, and 89bio, Inc. ($ETNB) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Notable gainers during the day on Friday were Y-mAbs Therapeutics ($YMAB) which rose +28.2% and had unusual volume of more than ten times its usual daily average during the session, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals ($EYPT) rose +11.8% on below-average volume, and Regeneron ($REGN) was up +1.9% after being upgraded at RBC.
PRISM MarketView’s Emerging Biotech Index tracks the progress of micro and small cap companies contributing to healthcare innovation and economic growth. Top performers on Friday were Quince Therapeutics ($QNCX) which rose 5.38%, Immuron Limited ($IMRN) which gained 5.37%, and Immatics NV ($IMTX) which finished the day up 3.37%. The day saw declines for Athersys, Inc. ($ATHX) which dropped by (33.49%), Inovio Pharmaceuticals ($INO)was down (12.99%) in spite of recently announcing a clinical partnership with Coherus Biosciences to develop a treatment for throat cancer. NeuroSense Therapeutics ($NRSN) finished the day down 7.82%.
Biotech Heats Up
The biotechnology sector is witnessing a resurgence in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), bringing a wave of optimism for venture capitalists as 2024 approaches. This uptick is seen as a beacon of hope for an industry that experienced a slump in investments over the past two years.
Positive signs emerged as 2023 came to a close, with three of the biggest names in biopharma making strategic acquisitions in oncology, autoimmune diseases, radiopharmaceuticals and point-of-care diagnostics. AstraZeneca ($AZN) entered an acquisition agreement, with a total upfront consideration of $1 billion, with Gracell Biotechnologies ($GRCL). Gracell’s investigational cell therapy GC012F, is a dual-targeting autologous CAR-T therapy being developed for multiple myeloma, blood cancers and autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
Read more in this week’s Biotech Bulletin.
The Trader’s Lens
Exoskeleton maker $EKSO is down big this week and lost the nice momentum it had over the past few months after the company announced that it was planning a stock offering of about 3 million shares to institutional investors at $1.55.
$BTTX, a prescription digital therapeutics company, has been the leader of the Prism MarketView Healthcare index this week. Looking at its daily chart it’s possible there could be a small double bottom pattern forming if it can break and close above recent highs.
Last week’s headlines
Immutep Doses First Patient in Chemotherapy-Free Bladder Cancer Treatment Study
Australian immunotherapy company, Immutep (Nasdaq: IMMP) has enrolled and dosed the first patient in its INSIGHT-005 Phase I trial. The investigator-initiated study jointly funded with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will evaluate eftilagimod alpha (“efti”) in combination with BAVENCIO® (avelumab) in up to 30 patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma. The company was leading the PRISM MarketView Emerging Biotech Index in trading on Wednesday.
Spectral AI Initiates Pivotal Study Evaluating DeepView AI® for Burn Injuries
Medical diagnostics AI company, Spectral AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDAI) has enrolled the first patient in a pivotal study to validate DeepView AI® using its proprietary imaging technology for burn size and healing assessment.
Nexalin Technology HALO™ Clarity Device Offers Hope for Treating Mental Health Conditions
Nexalin Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXL) has launched its Gen-3 HALO™ Clarity neurostimulation device designed to treat mental health conditions including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), addiction and substance use disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
AIM Immunotherapeutics Opens Enrollment in Pancreatic Cancer Trial
AIM ImmunoTech (NYSE: AIM) has opened enrollment for its Phase 1b/2 clinical trial which will combine AIM’s Ampligen® (rintatolimod) with AstraZeneca’s anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor Imfinzi® (durvalumab) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Clearmind Medicine Meets with FDA to Discuss Clinical Trial in Alcohol Use Disorder; Shares Up 72%
Clearmind Medicine (Nasdaq: CMND) has completed a Type A meeting with the FDA to discuss the Company’s clinical trial of CMND-100 for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder treatment (AUD) using its novel psychedelic- based therapy.
