Mobile-Health Network Solutions (MNDR) IPOs; Q32 Bio Surges; EMA Concludes GLP-1 Drugs Not Associated with Suicidal Thoughts
New York, N.Y., April 15, 2024 – PRISM MarketView – Healthcare equities finished lower on Friday, in line with broad declines across the market. The S&P 500 Healthcare Index closed down (1.52%) versus the S&P 500 Index which lost (1.46%) and the XBI settled down (3.43%). The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee concluded its nine month review of GLP-1 drugs, stating that the available evidence does not support a causal association between the GLP-1 receptor agonists and suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and actions. Mobile-Health Network Solutions ($MNDR) finished the week up +275.0% after the Singaporean telehealth solutions provider launched a $9 million IPO on Wednesday.
Notable performers on Friday were Q32 Bio ($QTTB) soared +21.3%, and +43.0% overall for the week, Adaptive Biotechnologies ($ADPT) finished the day up +14.9%, and PMV Pharmaceuticals ($PMVP) gained +13.3% after Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock.
PRISM Index Gainers and Decliners
PRISM MarketView’s Emerging Biotech Index tracks the progress of micro and small cap companies contributing to healthcare innovation and economic growth. Top performers on Friday were BioLineRx ($BLRX), which gained 2.4% after announcing on Wednesday that it has drawn-down the second tranche of $20 million under its previously announced $40 million non-dilutive debt financing agreement. iBio ($IBIO) finished the day up 1.51%, and Capricor Therapeutics rose by 0.32% during the day, and a further 3.68% after the closing bell. Index decliners were Inovio Pharmaceuticals ($INO), which lost (6.21%), AIM ImmunoTech ($AIM), which dipped (8.48%) in spite of releasing top-line interim data showing that its candidate Ampligen (rintatolimod) has a powerful synergistic effect when combined with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer this week. Vaxart ($VXRT) dropped by (12.49%). The index has a current value of $204.60 and is up 104.6% since inception.
Advancing Vaccines for Cancer
Cancer was responsible for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Treatments for cancer, which represents a group of complex and diverse diseases, have been in development for more than a century, but many cancers still lack safe and effective therapeutic options. The current standards of care – surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and precision approaches such as immune checkpoint inhibitors – each come with serious side effects and the threat of recurrence.
Vaccines as a treatment for cancer emerged as a prominent theme this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting. Companies met to describe promising therapeutics that are in development for advanced liver cancer, head and neck cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, and others.
Read more in this week’s Biotech Bulletin.
THE WEEK’S HEADLINES
ProPhase to Launch BE-Smart Esophageal Cancer Test in 2024
Next generation diagnostics company, ProPhase Labs (Nasdaq: PRPH), expects to launch its breakthrough BE-Smart test for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in the second half of 2024. BE-Smart leverages sophisticated proteomics to improve early detection of EAC and stratifies patients into low or high-risk groups with remarkable accuracy.
BioXcel Outlines Trial Design for Agitation in Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
Biopharmaceutical company, BioXcel Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BTAI), has provided details of its upcoming TRANQUILITY In-Care Phase 3 trial which will evaluate BXCL501 as an acute treatment for agitation associated with Alzheimer’s dementia (AAD) in the care setting. BXCL501 is a proprietary, orally dissolving film formulation of dexmedetomidine.
Neurosense to Evaluate Biological Changes in People with Neurodegenerative Disease
NeuroSense Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NRSN) has announced it will collaborate with Lonza (SIX: LONN), a global development and manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, to evaluate biological changes occurring in people with neurodegenerative diseases.
YS Biopharma Reports Positive Results in Rabies Vaccine Trial
Global biopharmaceutical company, YS Biopharma (Nasdaq: YS) has announced positive interim results from its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of a next-generation PIKA Rabies Vaccine. The vaccine utilizes YS Biopharma’s proprietary PIKA adjuvant technology and is designed to produce a more robust immune response in an accelerated timespan compared to existing rabies vaccines.
Lisata’s Bone Cancer Candidate Receives Orphan Drug Designation
Lisata Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LSTA) has received FDA Orphan Drug Designation for LSTA1, its lead product candidate, for the treatment of osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is a rare cancer that can develop in children, adolescents and young adults. Approximately 800 cases are diagnosed in the US each year. The company’s share price rose more than 10% in morning trading on Tuesday following the news.
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