Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

Stay ahead of biotech stocks seeing a surge in interest from retail and financial professional investors with this exclusive recap from The Fly

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

• Contrafect (CFRX), 435% surge in interest
• Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX), 195% surge in interest
• Satsuma Pharmaceuticals (STSA), 193% surge in interest
• Marker Therapeutics (MRKR), 120% surge in interest
• Marinus (MRNS), 117% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

ContraFect is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of DLAs, including lysins and amurin peptides, as new medical modalities for the treatment of life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections. The company has completed a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of Staph aureus bacteremia, including endocarditis, with its lead lysin candidate, exebacase, which is the first lysin to enter clinical studies in the U.S. Exebacase was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of MRSA bloodstream infections, including right-sided endocarditis, when used in addition to SOC anti-staphylococcal antibiotics.

Protagonist Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company with peptide-based new chemical entities rusfertide and JNJ-2113 in advanced stages of clinical development, both derived from the company’s proprietary technology platform. Rusfertide, a mimetic of the natural hormone hepcidin, is the company’s lead drug candidate currently in a global Phase 3 stage of development. The REVIVE study is now complete, with an open-label extension underway. The global Phase 3 VERIFY study of rusfertide in polycythemia vera is ongoing. Protagonist retains all worldwide development and commercialization rights to rusfertide.

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals is developing a novel therapeutic product, STS101, for the acute treatment of migraine. STS101 is a unique and proprietary nasal powder formulation of the well-established anti-migraine drug, dihydroergotamine mesylate, or DHE, administered via Satsuma’s proprietary nasal delivery device.

Marker Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications. "The cell therapy technology Marker has is based on the selective expansion of non-engineered, tumor-specific T cells that recognize tumor associated antigens and kill tumor cells expressing those targets. This population of T cells is designed to attack multiple tumor targets following infusion into patients and to activate the patient’s immune system to produce broad spectrum anti-tumor activity. Because Marker does not genetically engineer its T cell therapies, we believe that our product candidates will be easier and less expensive to manufacture, with reduced toxicities, compared to current engineered CAR-T and TCR-based approaches, and may provide patients with meaningful clinical benefit. As a result, Marker believes its portfolio of T cell therapies has a compelling product profile, as compared to current gene-modified CAR-T and TCR-based therapies," the company has stated.

Marinus is a commercial stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for seizure disorders. The company’s commercial product, Ztalmy oral suspension CV, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of seizures associated with CDKL5 deficiency disorder in patients two years of age and older. The potential of ganaxolone is also being studied in other rare seizure disorders, including in Phase 3 trials in tuberous sclerosis complex and refractory status epilepticus. Ganaxolone is a neuroactive steroid GABAA receptor modulator that acts on a well-characterized target in the brain known to have anti-seizure effects. It is being developed in IV and oral formulations to maximize therapeutic reach for adult and pediatric patients in acute and chronic care settings.

Recent news on these stocks:

June 12

Marker Therapeutics announced that the first patient has been treated in the company sponsored Phase 1 multicenter APOLLO trial investigating MT-601, a multi-tumor-associated antigen-specific T cell product targeting six antigens, for the treatment of patients with lymphoma who have failed or are ineligible to receive anti-CD19 CAR T cell treatment. Marker is developing MT-601, an autologous T cell product that is directed against six tumor associated antigens for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma who are either ineligible to receive or have failed anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy. Given the positive TACTAL trial results, which targeted five tumor associated antigens, Marker believes broadening its multiTAA-specific T cell product to target six antigens could result in better and more durable responses due to its ability to overcome antigen loss by targeting more than one antigen. The recent press release issued by Marker on May 31, 2023, referenced in vitro nonclinical data indicating that MT-601 prevented growth of lymphoma cells regardless of CD19 expression and prevented growth of CD19 expressing lymphoma cells that had become resistant to CAR T infusion. These data demonstrate the therapeutic potential of MT-601. The APOLLO trial sponsored by Marker is assessing MT-601 in patients with lymphoma who have either relapsed after anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy or were ineligible to receive it. The primary objective of this exploratory Phase 1 clinical trial is to evaluate the optimum dose, safety, and preliminary efficacy of MT-601 in patients with various lymphoma subtypes. Data from the APOLLO trial will guide Marker Therapeutics on the future development of MT-601. The first patient in the APOLLO trial recently received MT-601 at the 200 million cell dose level. This patient was monitored for 18 days after being dosed and showed no treatment-related adverse events, indicating that the therapy was well tolerated. This observation is consistent with the favorable safety profile and tolerability previously reported for lymphoma patients in the TACTAL study. Under the APOLLO trial, eight clinical sites across the United States will cumulatively enroll up to 30 patients during the dose escalation phase.

June 9

Protagonist Therapeutics announced that Ronald Hoffman, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, provided a press briefing this morning on the late-breaking oral presentation abstract LB2710: Targeted Therapy of Uncontrolled Erythrocytosis in Polycythemia Vera with the Hepcidin Mimetic, Rusfertide – Blinded Randomized Withdrawal Results of the REVIVE Study at the European Hematology Association 2023 Congress. The study results will be presented in detail by Marina Kremyanskaya, MD, PhD, on Sunday, June 11.. "The positive outcomes of the REVIVE study showcase the efficacy and tolerability of rusfertide as a highly effective therapy for uncontrolled erythrocytosis and associated symptoms in PV, and represent a significant advancement in the treatment of this malignant myeloproliferative neoplasm," said Dr. Hoffman. "Rusfertide offers a novel hormone mimetic-based approach which acts by selectively targeting uncontrolled erythrocytosis, providing sustained and durable hematocrit control and potentially improving PV-related symptoms and quality of life in these patients." Based on these and other previously announced data from the Phase 2 REVIVE Study of rusfertide in polycythemia vera, which showed patients on rusfertide remain largely phlebotomy free with durable hematocrit control under 45%, the company is planning a follow-on two year extension study, PTG-300-21, for patients who complete the current three-year Phase 2 study, thereby enabling evaluation of the effects of rusfertide in PV for up to five years. "As previously announced, data from the randomized withdrawal portion of the Phase 2 REVIVE study showed that nearly 70% of subjects receiving rusfertide treatment met the definition of clinical responders and more than than 92% of subjects in the rusfertide arm remained phlebotomy free. These are patients who would have otherwise required frequent phlebotomy, with or without cytoreductives. Additionally, some of the study participants have remained on rusfertide treatment for more than 2.5 years, highlighting the durability of response with rusfertide. A follow-on study allows even longer-term evaluation of the durability of response with rusfertide," said Arturo Molina, MD, MS, Chief Medical Officer, Protagonist Therapeutics. "We look forward to the opportunity this follow-on study presents, to gain further insight into the long-term safety and effectiveness of this promising drug candidate."

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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.

Keywords: biotech, biotech sector, biotech alert, investingchannel, XBI, SPDR S&P Biotech ETF