The Life Sciences Report

Small-Caps Rushing to Fill the NASH Treatment Pipeline
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/24/17)
NASH is an epidemic in the U.S., with more than 100 million people believed to be affected. Yet no FDA-approved treatments are available, with the exception of liver transplantation for end-stage disease. In part two of his interview with The Life Sciences Report, Ed Arce, managing director in equity research and senior analyst covering companies in the biopharmaceuticals and specialty pharmaceuticals sectors for H.C. Wainwright, and organizer of the recent inaugural NASH Investor Conference, says that small companies are rushing to fill the pipeline, with numerous compounds in trials. More >

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Shifts Focus to Leukemia Drug
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/17/17)
In light of a decision to pull its application for approval of vosaroxin in the European Union, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals has designated its BTK inhibitor program targeting chronic lymphocytic leukemia as its new lead program. More >

Inovio Moves Forward on Brain Cancer and Cancers Caused by HPV; Zika and Ebola Vaccines Also Advance
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/17/17)
Inovio Pharmaceuticals' pipeline of vaccine and immunotherapeutic products is advancing steadily through the phases of development, with a host of milestones anticipated in 2017, including the start of a Phase 3 trial in cervical dysplasia and the initiation of trials with partners in brain cancer and cancers caused by human papillomavirus. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, Inovio President and CEO, Dr. J. Joseph Kim, walks investors through the promising possibilities, and also provides updates on its vaccines for the Zika, MERS and Ebola viruses. More >

Big Pharma Sets Its Sights on NASH Epidemic
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/17/17)
Up to one-third of Americans may have conditions that lead to NASH, yet the disease is far from a household name. Closely linked with obesity, the disease does not become symptomatic until very late stage. Ed Arce, managing director in equity research and a senior analyst covering companies in the biopharmaceuticals and specialty pharmaceuticals sectors for H.C. Wainwright, organized the recent inaugural NASH Investor Conference. In part one of his interview with The Life Sciences Report, Arce discusses the disease, its market potential and how companies large and small are trying to fix the current dearth of treatments. More >

DURECT and Sandoz Ink $293 Million Deal for POSIMIR
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/10/17)
DURECT Corp. and Sandoz AG, a division of Novartis, have signed a development and commercialization agreement for the U.S. for POSIMIR. More >

3D Signatures' Platform Taps into the Power of the Genome
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/10/17)
How fast is my cancer progressing? Does this treatment present my best option for a cure? These two big questions, which determine outcomes for patients with serious diseases such as Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease, are addressed by the platform technology in development by 3D Signatures Inc. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, 3DS's new Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Kevin Little, describes the TeloView platform, its utility in the marketplace and what makes it a compelling investment. More >

The ProMIS of an Alzheimer's Cure
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/3/17)
With the impacts of Alzheimer's disease on patients, doctors and the health care industry expected to burgeon over the next decade, ProMIS Neurosciences has developed a preclinical program that targets the root cause of the disease, and also offers the potential to get in on an investment with a double bottom line, says Elliot Goldstein, CEO of ProMIS, in this interview with The Life Sciences Report.
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Mesoblast Heart Failure Trial Delivers Positive Interim Results
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (5/3/17)
Mesoblast Ltd., an Australia-based regenerative medicine company currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial in chronic heart failure, has received successful interim data, which prompted the Maxim Group to comment favorably on the study's design and progress. More >

Good Epilepsy Data from Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Would Set Stage for Pivotal Trials
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/26/17)
Maxim Group noted that data from Zynerba's Phase 2 proof of concept trial will be released in the third quarter; positive data would set the stage for Phase 3 trials. More >

VistaGen's Fast-Acting Antidepressant Targets Multibillion-Dollar Market
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/26/17)
Maxim Group recently initiated coverage of VistaGen Therapeutics, citing its progress on development of a fast-acting therapy to treat major depressive disorders. More >

Trial Results Set Up DURECT Corp. for 'Exciting Year'
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/26/17)
Positive results in a Phase 1b trial of DURECT Corp.'s candidate for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which were presented at the 2017 International Liver Congress, prompted comments from a pair of analysts. More >

2017 Small-Cap Biotech Watchlist Update: Holding Steady in a Volatile Market
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/19/17)
The Small-Cap Biotech Watchlist, composed of 20 companies targeting a range of indications including blood cancers and solid tumors, irritable bowel disease and orphan diseases, has posted a modest gain since the first of the year.
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String of Positive Trial Results Boosts RepliCel's Profile
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/12/17)
Positive results from RepliCel's Phase 1 trial for the treatment of aging and sun-damaged skin follow the release in the past few weeks of positive data from trials for chronic tendon problems and for hair loss. More >

Five Companies with Favorable Risk/Reward Profiles from the AlphaNorth Capital Conference
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/12/17)
The 4th annual AlphaNorth Capital Conference brought together over 40 emerging growth companies with top investors. In this interview with Streetwise Reports, Steve Palmer, founder and president of AlphaNorth Asset Management and a co-organizer of the conference, discusses a diverse group of companies that were selected to attend the conference, including three biotech companies. More >

RXi Pharmaceuticals Receives Japanese Patent for RNAi Platform
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/12/17)
With the granting of a new patent in Japan for its lead compound, RXI-109, RXI Pharmaceuticals has strengthened its reach in Asian markets and enhanced the protections surrounding its proprietary RNAi platform. More >

Four Biotech Mid-Caps Fund Manager Eden Rahim Believes Have Favorable Catalysts
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/5/17)
Biotech may be the last great bastion of stock picking, posits Eden Rahim, who manages the Toronto-based Next Edge Bio-Tech Plus Fund. The fund is up 40% in the last 12 months. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, Rahim provides his view of the sector and profiles four companies he believes may have great upside. More >

VistaGen Therapeutics Advances New-Generation Antidepressant Approved by European Patent Office
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/5/17)
In a milestone for South San Francisco-based VistaGen Therapeutics, the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a Notice of Intention to grant the company patents for its antidepressant prodrug, AV-101. More >

Cash-Rich Zynerba's Synthetic Cannabinoid Product Line Ready to Rumble
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (4/5/17)
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals specializes in developing and commercializing synthetic cannabinoid therapeutics formulated for transdermal delivery. The Devon, Pennsylvania-based company's Q4/16 financial results disclose a substantial cash kitty of ~$78M available to fund its pipeline of medical marijuana products, ZYN001 and ZYN002. More >

3D Signatures' TeloView Can Diagnose Alzheimer's with Cheek Swab
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (3/30/17)
With a swab taken from the inside of a patient's cheek, 3D Signatures' TeloView platform has demonstrated its ability to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, and also to assess whether the disease is manifesting in a mild, moderate or severe form. More >

Many Paths to Success with DURECT's Pipeline
Source: Dr. James Brown for The Life Sciences Report  (3/29/17)
DURECT has a pipeline of drugs for a wide range of indications, from NASH to psoriasis to postoperative pain. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, Dr. James Brown, DURECT's President and CEO, discusses the potentially groundbreaking epigenetic regulator DUR-928, POSIMIR's late-stage testing for postoperative pain and an abuse-deterrent oral technology. More >

Therapix IPO on NASDAQ Could Catapult It into the Big Leagues
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (3/21/17)
Therapix Biosciences launches its IPO on NASDAQ on Wednesday, March 22, under the trading symbol TRPX. The Tel Aviv-based company specializing in the development and commercialization of cannabinoid-based treatments has a drug for Tourette Syndrome in Phase 2a trials and is additionally developing a drug for mild cognitive impairment. The IPO helps put it on a path to join much larger companies developing cannabinoid-based drugs. More >

RepliCel's Phase 1 Trial for Hair Loss Completed Successfully
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (3/16/17)
RepliCel's successful conclusion of its Phase 1 trial for hair loss sets it up for the next steps in the drug's development. More >

3D Signatures' Disruptive Technology Moving Ahead for Prostate Cancer and Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (3/8/17)
3D Signatures continues to advance its cutting-edge technology for prostate cancer liquid biopsies and Hodgkin's lymphoma tests. More >

Stellar Biotechnologies (SBOT:NASDAQ) Inks Multiyear KLH Supply Agreement with Amaran Biotechnology; Stellar Up 13% on News
Source: The Life Sciences Report  (3/2/17)
Stellar Biotechnologies and Amaran Biotechnology have entered into an exclusive agreement where Stellar will supply KLH to the biopharmaceuticals manufacturer. More >

Stellar Biotechnologies (SBOT:NASDAQ) Could Rise with KLH Vaccine Trial Success
Source: Jason McCarthy for The Life Sciences Report  (3/1/17)
Several KLH-based vaccines are in trials for indications as varied as breast cancer and lupus, and clinical success could propel Stellar Biotechnologies, which is the only provider of KLH that has its own aquaculture facilities, says Jason McCarthy, an equity research analyst with Maxim Securities. Maxim currently has a price target of $4 on Stellar and the stock currently trades at around $1.65. More >