These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include:
- Forward Pharma (FWP), 82,500% surge in interest
- Innate Pharma (IPHA), 7,623% surge in interest
- Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), 5,202% surge in interest
- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL), 1,992% surge in interest
- Exicure (XCUR), 600% surge in interest
Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:
Innate Pharma is a clinical-stage oncology-focused biotech company who says its pipeline of antibodies includes "several potentially first-in-class clinical and preclinical candidates in cancers with high unmet medical need."
Viking Therapeutics is focused on the development of novel first-in-class or best-in-class therapies for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s clinical programs include VK2809, a novel, orally available, small molecule selective thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist for the treatment of lipid and metabolic disorders, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b study for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and fibrosis.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel therapeutics for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a liver disease with high unmet medical need. Madrigal’s lead candidate, resmetirom, is a once daily, oral, thyroid hormone receptor-beta selective agonist designed to target key underlying causes of NASH in the liver.
Exicure is an early-stage biotechnology company historically focused on developing nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid against validated targets. The company continues to actively pursue out-licensing opportunities for its clinical asset, cavrotolimod, as well as for its preclinical candidates, including the SCN9A program for neuropathic pain, and to pursue all strategic alternatives with the goal of maximizing stockholder value.
Recent news on these stocks:
December 19
Forward Pharma announced that on December 16 it received written notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market notifying it that Nasdaq believes that Forward is a ‘public shell’ pursuant to Listing Rule 5101, and that the continued listing of its securities is no longer warranted. The company will not appeal this determination. Therefore, it expects the trading of its American Depositary Shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market to be suspended at the opening of business on December 28, 2022, and that Nasdaq will file a Form 25-NSE with the U.S. SEC, which will remove Forward’s securities from listing and registration on The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Innate Pharma and Sanofi (SNY) announced an expansion of their collaboration, with Sanofi licensing a natural killer, or NK, cell engager program targeting B7H3 from Innate’s ANKET platform. Sanofi will also have the option to add up to two additional ANKET targets. Upon candidate selection, Sanofi will be responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization. Innate and Sanofi signed a first NK cell engagers collaboration in 2016 for the generation and evaluation of up to two bispecific NK cell engagers, which are currently being evaluated by Sanofi’s R&D team, with one of these molecules already in clinical studies.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals announced positive topline results from the pivotal Phase 3 MAESTRO-NASH biopsy clinical trial of resmetirom, a liver-directed selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist. MAESTRO-NASH, a registrational Phase 3 trial, has achieved both liver histological improvement endpoints that FDA proposed as reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit to support accelerated approval for the treatment NASH with liver fibrosis.
Shares of Viking Therapeutics rose 58% after competitor Madrigal Pharmaceuticals announced topline results from the pivotal Phase 3 MAESTRO-NASH biopsy clinical trial of resmetirom, a liver-directed selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist. MAESTRO-NASH, a registrational Phase 3 trial, achieved both liver histological improvement endpoints that FDA proposed as reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit to support accelerated approval for the treatment NASH with liver fibrosis, Madrigal reported.
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 15-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.
Published first on TheFly
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