Chasing the Alpha on Biotechs

Transitioning to Chimera Research Group

2011-10-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

To All Visitors & Subcribers, I want to thank you for visiting ChasingtheAlpha.com over the past few years. It has been my pleasure to provide what I hope has been the most relevant and insightful content in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. I am proud to announce that Jason Chew, Tony Pelz, Tro Kalayjian, Richard Kursman, and I have co-founded Chimera Research Group, where I will be

$PFE/$BMY score big with ELIQUIS(apixaban)

2011-08-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Pfizer($PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb($BMY) scored a huge win for ELIQUIS(apixaban) in their Phase 3 ARISTOTLE trial. ARISTOTLE (Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and Other Thromboembolic Events in Atrial Fibrillation), was a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, head-to-head trial, including 18,201 patients with atrial fibrillation and at least one additional risk factor for stroke. Now, the

8/8/2011 - More biotech capitulation and news roundup

2011-08-09T00:11:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, biotechs are still getting slaughtered left and right. One word to describe this: capitulation. Capitulation means to surrender or give up. In short, speculative money has run for the hills and is now hiding under a rock. Investing in biotech has never been easy nor risk-less, so it's one of the first industries to be dumped in a sell-off like this. Most biotechs are being

Biotech news to note(8/4/11); overall market in bear mode

2011-08-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I have been light on blog posts recently. I've been dealing with moving into a new apartment, finishing up my summer session teaching and a side project. In that time, we've seen the market stumble, politicians fumble and fear take hold. I cashed out of most of my positions earlier in the week and have been sitting on my hands for the most part. $DNDN's earnings/poor guidance caused a

Biotech news for 7/14

2011-07-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

$VICL : Vical and Astellas Announce Worldwide License Agreements for TransVax(TM) Cytomegalovirus Vaccine - http://srph.it/oFfBGY - $25 million upfront and $10 million once the Phase 3 design is finalized $CBST : Cubist Pharmaceuticals 2Q11 Total Net Revenues $176.8M - http://srph.it/nB2Rs8 - Great quarter, but they're still spending a lot of cash on their pipeline. $IPXL : Impax

Some biotech options movement to note

2011-07-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

Some trades I saw on 7/13 that I thought I would point out. $SGEN : Lots of put action in front of $SGEN's FDA advisory panel for Adcetris. Specifically, we saw 4500+ July $15, 2800+ July $17.5 and 1400 July $20 puts traded. See the screenshot for more info. Briefing documents here - http://1.usa.gov/pnYKnL $SQNM : 1100+ August $8 calls traded, open interest is only ~ 800. $SQNM has

Biotech news to note so far this week 7/11/11

2011-07-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Monday 7/11 Titan Pharmaceuticals(OTC: TTNP) Announces Positive Top Line Results in Confirmatory Phase 3 Trial of Probuphine - http://yhoo.it/qJJT6t Data Monitoring Committee Completes Review of 535 Patients in Celsion's Phase III ThermoDox(R) HEAT Study in Primary Liver Cancer - http://srph.it/qKVXsW Alnylam(NASDAQ: ALNY) Files Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for ALN-PCS, an RNAi Therapeutic

Biotech news for 6/30/11

2011-06-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Celsion($CLSN) had a nice day today; finally broke above $3.25. Investors are awaiting completion of enrollment in their Phase 3 HEAT trial. Avanir($AVNR) got very volatile today after the FDA posted that a Paragraph IV Patent Certification had been filed against Nuedexta. This means that a generic company has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) listing $AVNR's drug. This is just

Biotech news for 6/29/11

2011-06-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

FDA Approves Dendreon's($DNDN) Los Angeles Cancer Immunotherapy Manufacturing Facility - http://prn.to/k9pLRV - At Dendreon's current valuation, every little thing needs to go smoothly. In April, Dendreon filed a post-approval supplement for its third facility in Atlanta, for which there is an FDA action date of August 28, 2011. More importantly, we should be hearing news regarding Centers for

PTIE/PFE/DRRX receive CRL for Remoxy

2011-06-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

This morning we got the news that most expected, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTIE- News) confirmed that Complete Response Letter was received from the FDA with regard to their resubmitted new drug application (NDA) for REMOXY®(oxycodone) Extended-Release Capsules CII. Pfizer's CEO hinted about the potential for a delay in the approval of Remoxy a few months back;

Quick rundown on today's action

2011-06-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

Now that I am back from vacation in Hawaii, I just wanted to give a quick rundown on some news out today. I'm back! Nanosphere($NSPH) is way oversold on the FDA news regarding their PMA for a Plavix diagnostic test. http://aol.it/ll3v2i Momenta($MNTA) has had great action following inequitable conduct trial news.(More on this later). Here is a link to their PLoS ONE article on M402 -- http://

Glad to be back (for now)

2011-06-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the extended quiet period, besides driving across the country, I also dropped by ASCO 2011 this past weekend. You can see photos from some of the booths I went by here ( http://bit.ly/kMr036 ). I am taking an official vacation next week too. After that, I will be back to full speed. The market is getting very volatile, so I will be in mostly cash for the next few weeks, only doing some

Update on Array

2011-05-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give readers an update on Array Biopharm(NASDAQ: ARRY). Array Biopharm recently received a $10 million clinical milestone payment for their MEK162 Oncology Program. Novartis is beginning an open-label Phase 2 study of MEK162 in patients with malignant cutaneous melanoma, harboring BRAFV600E or NRAS mutations. This will help extend their cash runway and it's encouraging to see Novartis

1Q 2011 results and an interview with Cytosorbents(OTC: CTSO) CEO Philip Chan

2011-05-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

Today I have an update on CytoSorbents(OTC: CTSO). As we know, they recently received European CE Mark approval for CytoSorbTM, as an extracorporeal cytokine filter. Assuming all goes as intended, CTSO intends to begin commercializing the product in select European territories before the end of 2011. During their recent quarterly update, they announced that they had finally completed enrollment

Lots of ASCO abstract links

2011-05-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time to discuss them all, but I starred the more important ones. Keep in mind, some of these only have background info, since the results are being held until the meeting begins. ARIA *Results of the phase III, placebo-controlled trial (SUCCEED) evaluating the mTOR inhibitor ridaforolimus (R) as maintenance therapy in advanced sarcoma patients (pts) following clinical benefit

Hard times ahead for MannKind

2011-05-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

After shares of MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD) climbed on buyout rumors by Eli Lilly(NYSE: LLY) and positive FDA guidance, it appears that shareholders may be in for some tough medicine. Many also had been hoping for a silver-lining that might come from their End-of-Review meeting with the FDA on May 4th to talk about issues with their AFREZZA application. Unfortunately, neither buyout nor positive

More on ONXX and AVEO

2011-05-18T00:35:00.000-07:00

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX)‎ remains on-track to submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) for the use of carfilzomib in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma as early as mid-2011. Onyx has already initiated a rolling submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for potential accelerated approval. Onyx posted very compelling Phase 2b data back in December and was given Fast Track

Recap of last week's news and looking ahead to this week

2011-05-15T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a short summary of some events in biotech for the past week(5/9-5/13). I'll focus mainly on those stocks I follow and have done a good bit of reading up on. On Thursday, $EXEL(Exelixis) updated us on their ASCO plans. Obviously, I already posted these, but I wanted to add an extra tidbit of information. As we know, XL184 was chosen as one of the "Best of ASCO", so it comes as no surprise

Currently watching ASTM, OPTR and ALNY

2011-05-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

[Note this was originally published on Monday, May 9th. I also had to repost it because the issues with Blogger.] With the market pulling back after big gains in March and April, we are currently focusing on 3 stocks with near-term catalysts. Upcoming news flow could be able to turn around these stocks over the coming months. Thing over at Aastrom Biosciences (NASDAQ: ASTM) could get

Today in Pharma news(MNKD, ALXA, NEOP, OPTR)

2011-05-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

During today's quarterly conference call, MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD) informed investors that they likely won't be finish the 2 required trials that the FDA had asked for until the second half of 2012. The timing was still dependent upon receiving the meeting minutes from the FDA for the End-of-Review meeting they had on May 4th. Pulmonary safety was also a hot topic. Many callers seemed to even

Ariad and Exelixis look to shine at ASCO 2011

2011-05-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

With ASCO 2011 around the corner, we wanted to overview two oncology companies that the market will be watching closely: Exelixis Inc.(NASDAQ: EXEL) and Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA). Both of these stocks have had significant appreciation over the past 6 months because of clinical data relating to their lead compounds: Ariad's Ridaforolimus and Exelixis' Cabozantinib(XL184). At ASCO 2011,

Biotech Blogroll!

2011-05-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get asked what sources of information(calendars, analysis, etc) I use for doing research on biotech companies. Today's post is all about where I go for information. Hopefully, readers will also suggest some blogs/sites that I should look into! I have also updated the Resources page. Analysis GekkoWirehttp://www.gekkowire.com/ Biotech Investment Paradigmhttp://

Google groups, live chat and newsletter coming

2011-05-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

So I am in the process of setting up a Google groups message board, live chat feature and some type of weekly/monthly newsletter. I would love to hear any feedback on any of the above.

Important ASCO presentations from EXEL and ARIA

2011-05-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Below are some important presentations that Ariad and Exelixis have at ASCO. These call all be found here: http://apps.asco.org/ePlanner/am2011.aspx Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) Saturday, June from 4:30 PM - 4:45 PM E354a (Location) Activity of cabozantinib (XL184) in advanced ovarian cancer patients (pts): Results from a phase II randomized discontinuation trial (RDT). Ronald J. Buckanovich,

Book review: The Biotech Trader Handbook (updated 2nd Edition)

2011-05-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to provide readers with some reading material that I think can help everyone better understand how to use options(calls/puts) in order to generate profits in biotech. The book is titled, "The Biotech Trader Handbook (2nd Edition): A Fast, Simplified & Efficient Guide to Potentially Generate Outsized Returns in Biotech Using Options (for the non-scientist)" by T. Ayers Pelz. Review: