COVID-19 and the Stock Market The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is the topic that swallowed all other topics this week. The virus is spreading to many countries around the world. Some media interpreted the CDC’s warnings as being in direct conflict with the President while others showed understanding that the impact on the U.S. has so far been mild but the virus helped reveal the power …

Exelixis Announced Results from its CABOMETYX® Combination with Roche’s TECENTRIQ® News announced by Exelixis (EXEL) about encouraging results from the combination of its product cabozantinib (CABOMETYX®) with Roche’s product atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®) on metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The results emanated from the COSMIC-021 phase 1b trial.    The data will be presented on Thursday, February 13th during Poster Session A: Prostate Cancer at 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PT and 5:30 …

Gilead Stock Is UP Gilead Sciences’ (GILD) provided its antiviral experimental drug remdesivir to physicians for a small number of patients infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as a possible emergency savior. Gilead might have also signed an agreement with the Chinese authorities to conduct a clinical trial with remdesivir to treat coronavirus infected patients. Remdesivir was intended to treat the Ebola virus but …

Vertex Beats Expectations in 2019 Vertex (VRTX) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results yesterday. The results beat analysts’ expectations about the last quarter and the whole year 2019. In the same report the firm’s full-year financial guidance promises a thrilling future for Vertex. The report indicated that the total GAAP and Non-GAAP product revenues have increased by 63% and 45%, respectively, compared to the …

Time to Remember Compugen The time has ripened for our readers and biotech investors to remember what we posted in the past years about Compugen (CGEN). The importance of the reminder is that the firm has taken a long time to bring its target discoveries and its targeted treatments into clinical trials whose preliminary results have demonstrated promise. Compugen is headquartered in Israel with offices …

Forty Seven On December 21, 2018 Prohost picked Forty Seven (FTSV) at $16.95 adding it to its Portfolio of biotech firms with solid scientific and non-scientific fundamentals. Forty Seven develops novel checkpoint therapies to activate macrophages in the fight against cancer. The firm targets the CD47 pathway to engage macrophages in fighting tumors.  Macrophages function as first responders, engulfing foreign and abnormal cells, including cancer …

Cassava Sciences: PTI-125 for Alzheimer’s Disease Cassava Sciences (SAVA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on Alzheimer’s disease, announced additional clinical data from a Phase 2a study of PTI-125, its investigational drug candidate for Alzheimer’s disease. The new data were presented by the firm’s scientists during a late-breaking oral presentation at the 12thInternational Conference on Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD), in San Diego, Ca.    The new …

Hepion Pharmaceuticals CRV431 Decreased Liver Fibrosis and Tumor Burden in Experimental Models EDISON, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / October 16, 2019 / Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of liver disease arising from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH“) and chronic viral infection, today announced that the peer-reviewed Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics has published Hepion’s research article entitled, “A Pan-Cyclophilin …

RegenxBio Interim Data from Phase I/IIa Trial of RGX-314 for Wet AMD RegenxBio (RGNX) announced interim data from the ongoing Phase I/IIa trial of RGX-314 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Here are the results as presented by the Company. The results were presented by Jeffrey S. Heier, M.D., Co-President and Director of Retina Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and primary investigator for the trial, in a …

From Moderna  From the press release we learned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for Moderna (MRNA) investigational Zika vaccine (mRNA-1893) currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study for the prevention of Zika virus infection in healthy adults. This is good news for Moderna as the Fast Track designation will facilitate the development of mRNA-1893 for Zika and …

Palm Ebola Clinical Trial Stopped Early as Regeneron Product REGN-EB3 Therapy Shows Superiority to ZMapp in Preventing Ebola Deaths TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Aug. 12, 2019,/PRNewswire/ — Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that the Company was informed by study investigators that a randomized, controlled trial evaluating four investigational therapies for Ebola virus infection was stopped early because REGN-EB3 was superior to ZMapp in preventing death. ZMapp …

Amgen Press release Amgen Wins Patent Case On Enbrel® (etanercept) Court Upholds Validity of Patent Claims Directed to Enbrel Preliminary Injunction to Remain in Place THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Aug. 9, 2019, /PRNewswire/ — Amgen (AMGN) today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Amgen’s favor on the validity of the two patents that describe and claim Enbrel® (etanercept) and methods for making it. Amgen affiliates Immunex …

Nektar’s Press Release Nektar Therapeutics Results for Q2 of 2019 Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019. Cash and investments in marketable securities at June 30, 2019 were $1.8 billion as compared to $1.9 billion at December 31, 2018.  “Nektar is making good progress advancing our multiple programs in immuno-oncology, immunology, and pain,” said Howard W. Robin, President, and CEO of Nektar. “With our partner Bristol-Myers Squibb, …

In This Column Every day thousands of press releases are issued about biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. Only a few of these press releases have any impact, whether it be positive or negative, on the firms’ that are the subject of these press releases. Prohost’s Impacting News column will contain only those press releases that have news with a tremendous impact on the firms’ that are …