Exelixis’ (EXEL) partner Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Canada Inc. received approval of Cabometyx®(cabozantinib) tablets from Health Canada for adults with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) targeted therapy. Health Canada had granted Cabometyx priority review status, which resulted in the accelerated review of Ipsen’s new drug submission. Explaining the importance of Cabometyx’s additional approval, Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer …

PROHOST AGGRESSIVE PORTFOLIO  - The aggressive portfolio hosts biotech firms with solid scientific fundamentals and prominent scientists whose stocks have plummeted following some setbacks. A setback could be a failure of an investigational product to meet the endpoints of its clinical trial or that the small biotech firm has taken long to achieve its goals . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click …

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) announced that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee’s (PBAC) in Australia recommendation the listing of Orkambi® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The recommendation is for cystic fibrosis people ages six and over who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Many thousands of patients worldwide are already receiving lumacaftor/ivacaftor in countries where it is reimbursed …

Exciting are the Q2 2018 reported results by Exelixis’ (EXEL) including the firm’s revenues and earnings, compared to 2017. Impressive were Cabometyx’ (cabozantinib) revenues, in addition to the milestone payments from collaborating companies and ex-USA marketing agent. Inspiring also are the efforts the firm is spending on research and development with the aim of further boosting its revenues. Of the Results Revenues and Incomes – …

The Week in Review #26 IN THE BIOTECH WORLD - RESEARCH - IMPROVING CRISPR GENE EDITING The problem cited with gene editing is that the editing may stay switched on after it succeeded in reaching its goals. To prevent further unwarranted mutations, scientists from the Bath and Cardiff University have invented a switch that aims at controlling protein expression in cultured cells and mouse embryos with the …

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published results from the CELESTIAL phase 3 pivotal trial of Exelixis (EXEL) product Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) in previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The data demonstrate that Cabometyx provided a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) versus placebo. It is important to know that the clinical trial results formed the basis of regulatory …

The Week in Review #24 Biotech Stocks’ Performances, Products on the Move and Biotech Research Biotechnology stocks’ performance should be based on the firm’s intrinsic news that announces the power of their technologies and the successes or failures of their lead products and, to a lesser extent of their early-phase trials’ products. To be taken in consideration too are their financial statuses, especially of firms …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing Exelixis’ (EXEL) supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) tablets for patients with previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The FDA has determined that the application is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The filing has been assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of January 14, 2019. Commenting on the news, Gisela Schwab, M.D., President, Product Development and …

Exelixis (EXEL) announced that its partner Ipsen received approval from the European Commission (EC) for CABOMETYX®(cabozantinib) 20 mg, 40 mg and 60 mg for the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate or poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Union. Under the terms of the Collaboration and License Agreement with Ipsen, Exelixis will receive a milestone payment of $50 million for the EC approval, of which approximately $46 million was recognized as collaboration revenue in the first quarter …

SPARK THERAPEUTICS, SANGAMO THERAPEUTICS AND SALK INSTITUTE CURING HEMOPHILIA?   Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder that causes abnormal or exaggerated bleeding and poor blood clotting. Hemophilia A and Hemophilia B are inherited in an X-linked recessive genetic pattern, so males are commonly affected while females are usually carriers of the disease. Hemophilia A is caused by clotting Factor VIII deficiency and hemophilia B (Christmas disease) is caused by Factor IX deficiency. A …

It is obvious that Exelixis’ (EXEL) first quarter results do not justify the selling of EXEL during the whole quarter, but rather condemn it. It is an undeniable fact that Exelixis is doing a great job squeezing the best out of its approved drugs while conducting persistent research and development regarding its investigational pipeline products. The unveiled facts comprise the following: – Strong commercial performance for CABOMETYX in advanced renal cell …

The Week in Review #20 THE MARKET - My friend asked: “Are  you  scared?” “Of  what?” I asked “The  market?” The  market? No,” I  said.  We are afraid of those who are rendering the market nervous and  temporarily confused, as we observed while monitoring its volatility.  The market has never been chronically confused . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click here to …

Exelixis: Delightful Overseas Cabozantinib News Ipsen (EPA:IPN) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided a positive opinion for Exelixis’ (EXEL) product Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) 20, 40, 60 mg regarding the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate- or poor- risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). The CHMP positive opinion will be reviewed by the European Commission (EC), which has the …

Exelixis (EXEL) completed the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the FDA for Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) tablets for previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The sNDA submission is based on results from the CELESTIAL randomized pivotal phase 3 trial of Cabometyx in patients with advanced HCC who received prior sorafenib. Some History: On October 16, 2017, Exelixis announced that the independent data …

Juno Therapeutics’ (JUNO) stock price orbited the moon after-hours trading yesterday, rising 45%, following a wall street journal report stating that Celgene (CELG) was in discussions to take over Juno and that the negotiations could result in a deal in the coming weeks. Juno was established to create cellular immuno-oncology products- chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) to treat cancer. Neither Juno nor Celgene would …

As part of its ongoing strategy to build an innovative pipeline beyond its two internally-discovered, commercially available compounds, cabozantinib and cobimetinib, Exelixis (EXEL) entered into an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with StemSynergy Therapeutics. The aim of the collaboration is discovering and developing novel cancer products. targeting Casein Kinase 1 alpha (CK1α), a component of the Wnt signaling pathway implicated in key cancer processes. Exelixis and StemSynergy intend to conduct preclinical …

Prohost Letter #416 Part 1 The Year In Review - 2017 Unheard of Programs - AN AWESOME YEAR for the biotech sector regarding its accomplishments. Many of the accomplished programs were unheard of regarding the degree of their positive impact on medical practice. Unfortunately, many of these accomplishments, which included the making of new discoveries, the creation of novel advanced technologies and the design of …

Based on statistically significant results from the randomized phase 2 CABOSUN trial in patients with previously untreated renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Exelixis’ (EXEL)drug Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) for the expanded indication of patients with RCC. The results demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) versus sunitinib, a current standard of care. Today’s label expansion follows the initial FDA approval …

The Week in Review #10 NO CONSPIRACY THEORIES - But this is what’s happening - In the past issue of The Week in Review, we wrote about the irrational pattern of selling the biotech stocks during the announcement of the quarterly results and how some investors are taking advantage of this pattern to sell their stocks before the quarterly results . . . This content …

EXELIXIS For Exelixis’ excellent news, please read our latest article, "Exelixis’ (EXEL) Exceptional Financial Results and Corporate Achievements", under Today’s Highlights NEUROCRINE BIOSCIENCE Prohost Picked this firm on April 24, 2017, at $51 (see the Prohost Portfolio in the Prohost Letter). Today, Thursday, November 2, NBIX closed on  at $72.78 Up $11.85     In its Q3 report, Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) announced financial results that beat …