Stock Market Volatility  Stocks can move up and down for various reasons but not all of them have anything to do with the real value of the firms. As a matter of fact, almost all stocks outperform for a while, reverse their course to underperforming, then restart the cycle. The stock market in its entirety does the same thing for reasons that have nothing to …

Prohost Letter #436 What Are We Experiencing Now? The bizarre market underperformance progressing rather than regressing and the good economy and the employment gains are the least utilized factors after being the most influential on the stock market performance. We are witnessing the most bullish analysts being confused, hesitating to give their followers a crystal clear explanation about the market’s skepticism, anger and volatility. The …

The Medicines Company ORION-10 Study for ASCVD The Medicines Company (MDCO) announced positive topline results from the ORION-10 Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The ORION-10 trial conducted with . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click here to subscribe or here to log in.

Prohost Letter #435 The Value of the Biotech Companies A Continuation of Prohost Letter #434 A Recap The biotech near and long-term values, we insist, must be based on the firms’ scientific capabilities, products’ potentials and financial results. In the past months the stocks evaluations by bloggers, and some assessors, have been tailored to mislead investors into serving the purposes of the manipulators’ weird agendas. …

Diseases of the Back of the Eye Diseases of the back of the eye, such as: age-related wet macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, are currently managed with injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs into the gel-like substance (the vitreous humor) that fills the eye between the lens and the retina. The currently used age-related wet macular degeneration injections are: Lucentis, which belongs …

Gene Therapy Stocks Experiencing Selloffs  Every investor in the biotech sector must have experienced selloffs of the stocks from companies specialized in gene therapy, gene editing, antisense, RNAi and mRNA therapies. Recently, bluebird bio’s (BLUE) stock was devastated. The selloffs occurred for many reasons, most of . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click here to subscribe or here to log in.

The Week in Review #41 We Are Still Witnessing … The bizarre market performance that started in early 2019: In the past couple of months the great enthusiasm and response of the market to the undeniably strong economic indicators and the lowest unemployment figures turned, for mysterious reasons, to a perturbed-looking volatile market beast. The biotech stocks have given back most of their deserved gains …

Prohost Letter #434 Special Issue The Value of the Biotech Companies With a strong economy and an unemployment rate reaching the lowest percentage in decades we are witnessing strange, if not bizarre, market performance since the beginning of 2019. From the early signs of economic strength the stock market reacted explicitly to positive, economic news. Later, the enthusiastic market turned dispirited and volatile. The biotech …

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals From Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM) we learned that positive, top-line results from two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating setmelanotide, for pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency obesities, have met their primary endpoints and all key secondary endpoints. The product demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful effect on weight loss and reductions in insatiable hunger, or hyperphagia, in patients with POMC and LEPR deficiency …

Gilead Sciences Activities There is no doubt that Gilead Sciences (GILD) is doing whatever it takes to expand, improve and upgrade its pipeline products. For the last couple of months, each and every week, we heard news about collaborations with some companies and investment in others as well as licensing products from large, medium-sized and small firms. In less than ten . . . This content is for …

Good News about Novartis’ Cosentyx® for Psoriatic Arthritis Novartis (NVS) has good news for Cosentyx®. Data emerging out 0f the FUTURE 5 clinical trial on patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) showed that there was no radiographic progression in around 90% of PsA patients who were treated with Cosentyx® (secukinumab) 300 mg, over 2 years. These data are being presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) on 12-15, June, in …

Zynteglo™ from bluebird bio Gets European Conditional Approval European marketing authorization for Zynteglo follows the fastest assessment of an advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) as part of the European Medicines Agency’s Priority Medicines (PRIME) program. Zynteglo is bluebird bio’s first gene therapy to gain regulatory approval. Gene therapy is, indeed, moving towards the clinic to provide cures; to save people from an early death from …

Zolgensma Findings The FDA submission of the gene therapy product Zolgensma was based on positive findings from a trial of 15 babies treated with it. Recently; however, at the Orlando meeting of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Novartis (NVS) presented interim results for 22 babies with Type 1 SMA which is considered the . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click here to subscribe …

Novartis Has More Promising Data from Their Phase 3 Gene Therapy Trial with AveXis AveXis Inc., a Novartis (NVS) company, announced positive interim data from its Phase 3 STR1VE trial of Zolgensma® (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xio (AVXS-101) gene therapy in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) Type 1. About Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA . . . This content is for paid subscribers. Please click here to subscribe or here to log in.

The Amgen/Novartis Story In May 2018 Amgen (AMGN) & Novartis (

Prohost Letter #430 Rheumatoid Arthritis and Gilead The FINCH 1 trial: Has it reached its primary endpoints? How did the drugs respond as compared to placebo; what is the disability index, clinical remission, disease activity rate and safety results? What’s happening with Gilead’s HIV product? Read about Gilead’s collaboration with Galapagos. See how Prohost answers these questions in this issue #430 of the Prohost Letter. …

The Market is Outperforming Today. There is important news today about Novartis; part of which we are posting now. There is still more news related to Novartis as well as other biotech and biopharmaceutical companies. All will be in the upcoming Prohost Letter #430. We believe that the news we are posting will have a positive impact on the firms that announced them. Today’s news …

The Week in Review #39 During the Departed Week Three Prohost Portfolio Picks Hit Their 52-Week Highs The three picks referred to in the above title are, Novartis (NVS), Array (AARY) and Ionis (IONS). Previous Prohost Letters discussed Novartis and Array and continued to remind that they are Prohost favorites. The time has come to take a deeper look at Ionis; starting with the reasons …

CRISPR Therapeutics' (CRSP) stock added around $8 today while reporting financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2018. Here is what Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics, has stated,“This past year was truly transformational for CRISPR Therapeutics as we achieved milestones across our key programs in β-thalassemia, sickle cell disease and immuno-oncology. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made in …

The United States FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to AMT-061. The European Medicines Agency gave it access to the Priority Medicine (PRIME) regulatory initiative. Gene therapy firm, uniQure (QURE), announced updated clinical data in patients treated in the ongoing Phase 2b study of AMT-061; an investigational AAV5-based gene therapy containing a patent-protected  FIX9-Padua (Factor 9) for the treatment of patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. The announced data, which …