Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include:

• Citius Pharmaceuticals (CTXR), 237% surge in interest
• Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP), 225% surge in interest
• Immunogen (IMGN), 130% surge in interest
• Evofem Biosciences (EVFM), 110% surge in interest
• Seagen (SGEN), 110% surge in interest
• Exelixis (EXEL), 86% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Citius Pharmaceuticals is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class critical care products, with a pipeline of anti-infectives in oncology, adjunct cancer care, stem cell therapy and unique prescription products. Its diversified pipeline of therapies targeting unmet medical needs includes three potential first-and-only prescription treatments in their indications, and a next-generation single-donor, allogeneic, clonal and scalable stem cell therapy program.

Harpoon is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing a novel class of T cell engagers that unleash the natural power of the T cells to fight cancer and other diseases. At the heart of Harpoon’s approach is a novel antibody-derived platform called TriTAC — Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct — designed for targeted penetration and destruction of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, and engineered to bind to human serum albumin for improved therapeutic schedule and patient convenience.

ImmunoGen says it is “developing the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates to improve outcomes for cancer patients.” By generating targeted therapies with enhanced anti-tumor activity and favorable tolerability profiles, the company says it “aims to disrupt the progression of cancer and offer patients more good days.”

Evofem Biosciences is commercializing products to address unmet needs in women’s sexual and reproductive health. The company’s first FDA-approved product, Phexxi — lactic acid, citric acid and potassium bitartrate — is a hormone-free, on-demand prescription contraceptive vaginal gel.

Seagen discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes targeted cancer therapeutics, with antibody-drug conjugates at its core. As “an ADC technology trailblazer,” approximately one-third of FDA-approved and marketed ADCs use Seagen technology, the company has noted. Seagen is headquartered in Bothell, Washington and has locations in California, Canada, Switzerland and across Europe.

Exelixis is an oncology company that says it is “innovating next-generation medicines and regimens at the forefront of cancer care.” The company says it is rapidly evolving its product portfolio to target an expanding range of tumor types and indications with its clinically differentiated pipeline of small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates and other biotherapeutics.

Recent news on these stocks:

October 24
Citius Pharmaceuticals and TenX Keane Acquisition announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, dated October 23, 2023, for a proposed merger of TenX and Citius Pharma’s wholly owned oncology subsidiary that will continue as a public company listed on the Nasdaq exchange. The newly combined public company will be named Citius Oncology. Upon closing, pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Citius Pharma would receive 67.5M shares in Citius Oncology at $10 per share and retain majority ownership of approximately 90%. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

October 23
Harpoon Therapeutics entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement in public equity financing that is expected to result in upfront gross proceeds of approximately $100M, with up to an additional approximately $50M of gross proceeds upon cash exercise of warrants, before deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses. The PIPE financing was led by a leading biotechnology investor associated with one of the largest alternative asset managers, with participation from new and existing investors including Soleus Capital, Commodore Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, RA Capital Management, Invus, Surveyor Capital, K2 HealthVentures, Ally Bridge Group, Lion Point Capital, and a large mutual fund. Pursuant to terms of the securities purchase agreement, at the closing of the financing, the Company will issue an aggregate of 17,167,350 shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 8,583,675 shares of its common stock, at a combined purchase price of $5.8345 per share and accompanying warrant.

October 22
Harpoon Therapeutics announced the updated interim monotherapy data from its Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating HPN328 in small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumor types in a poster at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress 2023. HPN328 targets delta-like ligand 3 and is derived from Harpoon’s proprietary Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct platform designed to recruit a patient’s own immune cells to kill tumor cells. HPN328 was generally well tolerated across all dose cohorts. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 67 patients, and Grade greater than or equal to 3 TRAEs in 18 patients. CRS was most common and was primarily Grade 1 or 2. No dose limiting toxicities occurred at target doses, and the target maximum tolerated dose has not been reached as of the data cut off on September 12, 2023. The preliminary response data for evaluable patients treated in 1 mg priming dose cohorts showed confirmed response rate of 35% across all tumor types. In SCLC, the confirmed response rate was 32% with one confirmed complete response. In patients with other neuroendocrine tumor types, such as prostate cancer, small cell cervical, small cell bladder, and large cell lung cancer, 42% confirmed response rate was observed, including two confirmed complete responses in small cell bladder and small cell cervical tumor types. The duration of response data in the 1 mg priming dose cohorts continues to mature.

Seagen and Genmab A/S (GMAB) announced results from the Phase 3 innovaTV 301 randomized global trial, which showed treatment with TIVDAK demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful 30% reduction in the risk of death in recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer patients with disease progression on or after first-line therapy, compared with chemotherapy. Data were presented during the Presidential Symposium at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress 2023. The safety profile of TIVDAK in innovaTV 301 was consistent with its known safety profile as presented in the U.S. prescribing information, and no new safety signals were observed.

Seagen and Astellas Pharma announced results from the Phase 3 EV-302 clinical trial for PADCEV in combination with KEYTRUDA versus chemotherapy. The combination improved overall survival and progression-free survival with statistically significant and clinically meaningful results in patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2023 as part of the Presidential Session. The EV-302 study met its dual primary endpoints of OS and PFS, compared to platinum and gemcitabine chemotherapy. The safety results in EV-302 are consistent with those previously reported with this combination in EV-103 in cisplatin-ineligible patients with la/mUC. No new safety issues were identified.

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About “Biotech Alert”
The Fly will report on a selection of biotech stocks seeing a surge in interest from retail and financial professional investors, based on data from InvestingChannel. This Fly exclusive recap reveals the biotech stocks that are seeing a spike in searches among the 20-plus million retail and financial professional investors through InvestingChannel’s online financial news media ecosystem. This increased attention from the investors may be in response to, or advance of, outsized moves for stocks in the biotech sector, which tend to be volatile and prone to sharp swings in share price around binary events such as clinical study results and FDA approvals.