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: 

• Rapt Therapeutics (RAPT), 3,313% surge in interest
• Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA), 291% surge in interest
• Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX), 232% surge in interest
• Summit Therapeutics (SMMT), 199% surge in interest
• Ocugen (OCGN), 172% surge in interest
• Vaccinex (VCNX), 107% surge in interest
• Trevi Therapeutics (TRVI), 105% surge in interest
• Phathom Pharmaceuticals (PHAT), 82% surge in interest
• Equillium (EQ), 73% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Rapt Therapeutics is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral small molecule therapies for patients with significant unmet needs in inflammatory diseases and oncology. Rapt has discovered and advanced two unique drug candidates, RPT193 and FLX475, each targeting C-C motif chemokine receptor 4, for the treatment of inflammation and cancer, respectively. The company is also pursuing a range of targets that are in the discovery stage of development.

Iovance Biotherapeutics is focused on developing and delivering tumor infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapies for patients with cancer. Its lead late-stage TIL product candidate, lifileucel for metastatic melanoma, “has the potential to become the first approved one-time cell therapy for a solid tumor cancer,” said the company, adding that its TIL platform has “demonstrated promising clinical data across multiple solid tumors.”

Celldex is a clinical stage biotechnology company leading the science at the intersection of mast cell biology and the development of transformative therapeutics for patients. The company’s pipeline includes antibody-based therapeutics which have the ability to engage the human immune system and/or directly affect critical pathways to improve the lives of patients with severe inflammatory, allergic and autoimmune and other devastating diseases.

Summit Therapeutics is initiating development activities for SMT112 and will do so first in NSCLC indications. Summit plans to start treating patients in clinical studies by the second quarter of 2023.

Ocugen is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel gene and cell therapies and vaccines that improve health and offer hope for patients across the globe. The company’s “breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to treat multiple retinal diseases with a single product,” says Ocugen, which adds that it is advancing research in infectious diseases to support public health and orthopedic diseases to address unmet medical needs.

Vaccinex says it is “pioneering a differentiated approach to treating slowly progressive neurodegenerative diseases and cancer through the inhibition of semaphorin 4D.” The company’s lead drug candidate, pepinemab, is designed to block SEMA4D, a potent biological effector that is believed to trigger damaging inflammation in chronic diseases of the brain and inhibit immune infiltration and activation in tumors. In neurodegenerative diseases, pepinemab is being studied as a monotherapy in the Phase 1/2a SIGNAL-AD study in Alzheimer’s Disease, with ongoing exploration of potential Phase 3 development in Huntington’s disease. In oncology, pepinemab is being evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA in the Phase 1b/2 KEYNOTE-B84 study in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer and in combination with BAVENCIO in a Phase 1b/2 study in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Trevi Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing the investigational therapy Haduvio for patients with chronic cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and refractory chronic cough. Trevi also is evaluating Haduvio for prurigo nodularis. Haduvio is a dual ĸ-opioid receptor agonist and µ-opioid receptor antagonist that works both centrally in the brain as well as peripherally in the lungs and has the potential for a synergistic antitussive effect to treat chronic cough.

Phathom Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel treatments for gastrointestinal diseases. Phathom has in-licensed the exclusive rights in the United States, Europe, and Canada to vonoprazan, a first-in-class potassium-competitive acid blocker.

Equillium is a clinical-stage biotechnology company working to develop novel therapeutics to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with high unmet medical need. The company’s pipeline consists of the following novel first-in-class immunomodulatory assets and product platform targeting immuno-inflammatory pathways. EQ101: a selective tri-specific cytokine inhibitor targeting IL-2, IL-9, and IL-15; currently under evaluation in a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical study of patients with alopecia areata being conducted in Australia and New Zealand by Equillium’s Australian subsidiary as the trial sponsor. EQ302: an orally delivered, selective bi-specific cytokine inhibitor targeting IL-15 and IL-21; currently in pre-clinical development.

Recent news on these stocks:

February 21

Vaccinex has entered into eight new antibody discovery agreements integrating use of its proprietary ActivMAb platform to select antibodies against difficult-to-drug transmembrane protein targets. Within the last 3 months, Vaccinex has entered into new antibody discovery agreements for complex targets with 3 major pharma and biotech companies as well as 5 strategic relationships with other antibody service providers who have developed transgenic animal species for immunization or very large synthetic antibody libraries that complement our own technology. ActivMAb’s new “Antigen Virus” application is a powerful complement to drug discovery strategies targeting complex protein targets including ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors such as chemokine receptors. Specific membrane targets are also key to development of antibody drug conjugates for cancer, The ActivMAb system enables expression of functional, properly folded complex proteins on the relatively simple membrane of a mammalian virus. We believe that this is a much more highly purified presentation and efficient selection technology than the complex natural membrane fragments that have been termed virus-like particles. Vaccinex’s ActivMAb catalog and custom services are available through Science Exchange.

Equillium received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market notifying the company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the “Bid Price Rule”) for continued inclusion on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

February 20

RAPT Therapeutics announced that the FDA has verbally notified the company that a clinical hold has been placed on the company’s Phase 2b trial of zelnecirnon, RPT193, in atopic dermatitis and its Phase 2a trial in asthma. The company expects to receive a formal clinical hold letter from the FDA. The clinical hold determination was based on a serious adverse event of liver failure in one patient in the atopic dermatitis trial, the cause of which is currently unknown but which has been characterized as potentially related to zelnecirnon. Dosing of zelnecirnon has been halted in both clinical trials, as has enrollment of new trial participants. The clinical hold does not apply to RAPT’s ongoing trial of tivumecirnon, FLX475, in oncology.

Summit Therapeutics filed a $450M mixed securities shelf, and to sell 2.98M shares of common stock for holders.

February 16

Iovance Biotherapeutics announced that the FDA has approved Amtagvi, or lifileucel, suspension for intravenous infusion. Amtagvi is a tumor-derived autologous T cell immunotherapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma previously treated with a PD-1 blocking antibody, and if BRAF V600 mutation positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a MEK inhibitor. This indication is approved under an accelerated approval based on overall response rate, or ORR, and duration of response. Iovance is also conducting TILVANCE-301, a Phase 3 trial to confirm clinical benefit. “Amtagvi is the first and the only one-time, individualized T cell therapy to receive FDA approval for a solid tumor cancer,” the company stated.

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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.