Incyte Announces a Multi-year Research Collaboration with the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The aim of the agreement with Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania as Incyte (INCY) stated in the press release is to bring together the knowledge and expertise of both collaborators scientists. This cooperation will enable conducting collaborative research in order to advance the understanding of cancer …

Incyte (INCY) and Agenus (AGEN) announced an amendment of the License, Development and Commercialization Agreement that was originally agreed upon by the two firms on January 9, 2015. The amended converts the ongoing antibodies targeting GITR and OX40 programs from co-funded development and profit-sharing arrangements to royalty-bearing programs. In the 2015 agreement, both firms decided to work together on the INCAGN1876 (anti-GITR agonist) and INCAGN1949 …

Prohost Letter #404 Part 2 Synthetic Biology (2) A Brief History DNA is the software of life. This is how Synthetic Genomics firm, which we believe is now is the leading biotech firm for applied synthetic biology. Synthetic Genomics is still a private firm in spite of that thousands of investors are impatiently waiting for it to turn public and it will. So stay tuned. …

It seems that the global Takeda (TKPYY) has guessed well what it should pick in order to bring the most effective targeted treatments to cancer patients allover the globe. Cancer management has unreservedly changed. What seems now to have become the best treatment choices are those that would accommodate the new wave of extremely promising immunotherapy approaches. To reach its ultimate success, immunotherapy drugs require …

Incyte and Calithera Biosciences Announce Global Collaboration to Develop and Commercialize CB-1158, a Small Molecule Arginase Inhibitor                         Incyte (INCY) and Calithera Biosciences (CALA) announced a global collaboration and license agreement for the research, development and commercialization of Calithera’s first-in-class, small molecule arginase inhibitor CB-1158 in hematology and oncology. CB-1158 is currently being studied in …

Observing the biotech sector’s stock prices post losses yesterday, Wednesday, Dec. 21 convinced us that investors and traders in the biotech sector might have wrongly interpreted a bipartisan Senate report regarding the high price of drugs. The report is the outcome of a study that forms the basis of a recommendation that would enable the Congress take the right action against unjustified increases in the …

At the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2016) in London, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) and Incyte (INCY) presented data from RA-BEYOND study, demonstrating that their drug baricitinib was superior to placebo at inhibiting progressive radiographic joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A key goal of rheumatoid arthritis treatment is to impede the structural damage that this disease usually causes to the …

GRAFT VERSUS HOST DISEASE (GVHD) INCYTE (INCY) HAS SEVERAL GOOD NEWS. As a matter of fact, Incyte has exciting news coming from innumerable activities strategized by the firm’s dynamic management. The first good news came from the FDA, granting Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Jakafi® (ruxolitinib) for the treatment of patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). There are currently no approved treatments for GVHD. Breakthrough Therapy …

Le CompaGnon Part 1 TUESDAY June 14, 2016 The Eternal Market Games Unfortunately, the fabrication and misrepresentation of reality in media articles about member firms of the biotech sector succeeded in devastating promising companies having exceptional technologies and products. The damages went far beyond investors unwarranted losses. The damages were grave as to ruin of many firms. Indeed, many promising firms were forced to declare …

CANCER Everyday something new is discovered that explains cancer behavior, including proliferation, response to treatment, resistance to treatment, metastasis, recurrence, etc. Today we have several news, including one that might have cleared a puzzle regarding a continuous growth of colon cancer after oncologists block a well known signaling molecule recognized as playing a major role in making, not breaking the cancer. We also have news …

Underestimating the Value of Drugs that Disrupt the DNA Repair Mechanisms in Cancer Cells. AstraZeneca’s (AZN) Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said that while DNA damage response was under-recognized by investors, oncologists were already “very excited” by its potential of the drugs targeting DNA repair mechanisms inside cancer cells. According to AstraZeneca, drugs that disrupt the DNA repair mechanisms inside cancer cells are showing tangible promise for …

By June, which is next month, Incyte (INCY) will be the owner of the European operations of Ariad (ARIA). That’s what both firms have announced yesterday. Among other details, the firms decided on signing a licensing agreement for exclusive development and commercialization rights to Ariad’s Iclusig (ponatinib) in the European Union and 22 other countries, including Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Israel and Russia. Iclusig is approved …

Prohost Letter #395 On the Road TO DEFEATING CANCER - Results of cancer treatment with novel immunotherapy drugs suggest that the hope of conquering cancer has improved from doubtful to conceivable. Immunotherapy treatments are scoring unprecedented successes against a wide variety of malignancies, including liquid cancers, solid cancers, cancers with DNA mutations caused by viruses and other cancer-causing agents. The two Immunotherapy approaches are currently occupying …

Pfizer (PF) terminated its acquisition agreement with Allergan Plc (AGN) The new set of rules released by the U.S. Treasury Department to make it difficult for U.S. companies to conduct tax inversions contributed Pfizer’s decision. Analysts noted that the new regulations seem almost directly aimed at Pfizer-Allergan. In one of two major parts of the new rules, the U.S. government would not consider the assets acquired …

Prohost Letter #394 Part 1 Gilead - Some people sold Gilead’s (GILD) stock on Wednesday, March 23 after news announced on Tuesday that a jury decided that Gilead has infringed on two HCV molecules patents that Ionis (IONS), formerly Isis, and Merck had secured from their research. Ionis CEO said in a press release that his firm and Merck used their expertise during their collaboration in …

Incyte (INCY) and Eli Lilly (LLY): The New England Journal of Medicine published detailed results of RA-BEACON — a pivotal phase 3 global study of baricitinib, a once-daily oral treatment for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study met its primary endpoint of ACR 20 response for baricitinib compared with placebo at week 12. ACR 20 response rates were (P≤0.001 for each baricitinib dose versus placebo): 55 percent for baricitinib 4 mg; 49 percent …

Prohost Letter #393 IMMUNOTHERAPY - PROHOST PORTFOLIO - NEW PICKS? - A Brief Reminder of the CAR T –TCR Immunotherapy Approaches In this issue we continue our journey inside the territory of cancer immunotherapy. We remind that in the Prohost Letter issue #391, we dealt with the immunotherapy based on genetically engineered T Cells, enabling them to seek out, attack and neutralize cancer cells. The immune system’s T …

Agenus (AGEN) is a project in the making since the firm has decided to play an integral part in immuno-oncology, doing everything possible towards building checkpoint modulator antibodies, in addition to its protective and therapeutic vaccines. Missing analysts’ expectation by one cent, which leads to stocks’ punishment has become an accepted routine, satisfying daily traders and other investors. The substance, however, which  interests us, is in …

Prohost Letter #392 February 28, 2016 - How could it be possible for any genius to make intelligent guesses about the market's next moves when highly regarded experts, including Nobel Prize winners in economics, remained quizzical about the recent horrifying performances of publicly traded stocks? Since the beginning of 2016, the stock market has been made to look as if a runaway train with many passengers …

Incyte: A Good Company Facing Irrelevant Investors’ Reaction  Incyte decided to stop an early ongoing trial of a combination treatment ruxolitinib (Incyte) plus regorafenib (Bayer) for colon cancer after observing the combination wasn’t working. Both drugs are approved for different indications and both are doing well in the market. At this moment in the market chaos, this news looked as if a terrible thing that must cause an unwarranted …