Arrowhead Research Corp. (ARWR) soars on news of positive data from weight loss drug
Posted on: November 10th, 2011Written by:
Nanomedicine company, Arrowhead Research Corp. (Nasdaq: ARWR) announced on Thursday that data from its subsidiary’s obesity drug demonstrated weight loss, reduction in body mass index and abdominal circumference in obese rhesus monkeys.
The data, which was published in Science Translational Medicine (Sci Trans Med 3, 108ra112 (2011) DOI: 10.1126/scitraslmed-3002621), demonstrates that monkeys treated with Adipotide lost an average of 11 percent of their body weight after only four weeks of treatment.
Adipotide-treated animals also showed marked improvements in insulin resistance, suggesting the potential for use in treating type-2 diabetes.
Shares of the Pasadena-based Arrowhead Research Corp. touched a new 52-week high of $1.19 on Thursday, up 120 percent from Wednesday’s c losing price of $0.54.
“Safely and effectively treating the obesity epidemic is one of the great unmet needs in medicine today,” said Dr. Christopher Anzalone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arrowhead in a November 10 press release. “This study is a radical step forward for both Ablaris’ technology and the treatment of obesity.It is uncommon for an obesity treatment to be successfully translated from rodent studies to non-human primates. Ablaris’ approach is distinguished from others in the field by its unique mode of action. By acting directly on the vasculature that supports fat tissue rather than on the brain, we believe that we can avoid many of the safety issues that have blocked other anti-obesity drug candidates. We are extremely encouraged by the results achieved to date with Adipotide and believe that Ablaris’ unique technology offers a significant advantage to combating obesity as we prepare to enter the clinic in the near-term.”
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (RXII) clinical trials to continue, shares jump
Posted on: September 12th, 2011Written by:
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq: RXII) shares gained 12% to $1.12 Monday, after favorable news about the company’s breast cancer vaccine trial. Volume for the stock exceeded 3.5 million shares, compared to a daily average of 722,000.
A story published Monday in Boston Business Journal revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug administration has cleared the way for the start of Rxi to launch its Phase 3 trial studying a potential vaccine for a certain type of breast cancer.
If successful, the vaccine would provide an alternative for women who have low to intermediate expression of the HER2 mutation, and are not eligible for the blockbuster drug Herceptin, made by Swiss drug maker Roche AG.
The FDA has now lifted a partial clinical hold the agency put on the chemistry, manufacturing and controls associated with the vaccine trial.
Worcester, Mass.-based RXi acquired the potential vaccine, called NeuVax, when it bought Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apthera. As part of the deal, Apthera’s shareholders initially received approximately 4.8 million shares of Worcester, Mass.-based RXi’s common stock, worth $7.2 million at the time, on March 30. The deal closed in April. Apthera’s stockholders will also be entitled to contingent payments tied to clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones connected to NeuVax.
The partial clinical hold was placed on the vaccine candidate before it was acquired by RXi, and its lifting will allow the company to start its Phase 3 trial in the first half of 2012. The study is expected to include about 100 trial sties in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Alliqua (ALQA) soars after news of completing pain patch study
Posted on: January 20th, 2011Written by:
Biomedical products company Alliqua, Inc. (OTCBB: ALQA) was up more than 35 percent on Thursday after the company announced that it completed an initial study for its transdermal pain patch project.
Shares of Alliqua were up as high as 21 cents in morning trading on Thursday, up from Wednesday’s closing price of 17 cents per share.
“The successful outcome of this study validates the progress Alliqua has made in creating a specialized transdermal pain patch based on our proprietary hydrogel technology,” said Alliqua’s president, Richard Rosenblum in a statement.
Alliqua was formerly known as HepaLife Technologies, Inc., and traded under the ticker symbol HPLF. The name change and new ticker symbol was made official on January 5, 2011.
5 penny stocks gaining ground on Thursday – HAUP, NMTI, LXRX, IBCP, SOPW
Posted on: January 6th, 2011Written by:
Hauppauge Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAUP) advanced as much as 55 percent from Wednesday’s closing price on Thursday, after the maker of TV tuners for PCs, unveiled new devices for streaming live television over laptops and Apple Inc’s iPad and iPhone. This new stand alone “box” from Hauppauge’s PCTV Systems division, called Broadway, allows live TV to be watched on an Apple device in the home through a WiFi connection, or anywhere in the world via an Internet connection. One of the key technologies within Broadway is a high-quality, high definition H.264 video compressor, which can take TV programs from clear QAM digital cable TV or ATSC over-the-air TV and “shrink” these programs into a form which can be displayed on an Apple device.
Shares of medical products maker, NMT Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMTI) were up as much as 57 percent from Wednesday’s close after the company announced a new $2 million credit facility with LSQ Funding Group, L.C., a Florida-based firm that specializes in providing financing to small- and medium-sized businesses. NMT Medical is an advanced medical technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary implant technologies that allow interventional cardiologists to treat structural heart disease through minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX) shares soared as much as 36 percent on Thursday on the news that the company would commence development of a tablet version of its drug for type-2 diabetes. Lexicon reported that the drug, LX4211, had presented promising data in a mid-stage study, it would begin another mid-stage study in Q2 2011. Lexicon reported that a double dose of the 150 milligram tablet form of the drug quickly lowered blood sugar levels in patients compared to studies using a lower dosage liquid form of the drug. Shares of LXRX are up about 28 percent in the past three months.
Independent Bank Corporation (Nasdaq: IBCP) traded up as much as 50 percent on nearly 10x the company’s average three-month volume on Thursday. Shares climbed as high as $2.44, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $1.62. IBCP reported a net loss to common shareholders of $15.9 million during the first three quarters of 2010, or $3.71 a share, better than a net loss of $45.3 million, or $19.02 a share, a year earlier. The shares underwent a reverse 10 to 1 split in August. Total assets were $2.7 billion as of September 30. The company owes $72 million in TARP money and has deferred its last three dividend payments on preferred shares held by the government, according to TheStreet.com.
Our final big mover under $5 today is Solar Power, Inc. (OTCBB: SOPW). Shares climbed as high as $0.62 on Thursday, up 67 percent from Wednesday’s closing price of $0.37 per share. Volume was nearly 30-times the company’s average three month volume. Shares soared on Thursday after it was announced that Chinese solar company, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) agreed to acquire a 70 percent interest in Solar Power Inc. for about $33 million. LDK will also purchase certain components of Solar Power’s manufacturing equipment, and will assume control of its module manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Shares of SOPW are up about 140 percent over the past three months.
ACTC moves higher on FDA clearance for stem cell therapy trials
Posted on: January 6th, 2011Written by:
Shares of Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC) advanced higher on Thursday following an announcement earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the company the green light to conduct clinical trials for a therapy made from embryonic stem cells in patients with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a common cause of vision loss.
“Dry AMD is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over the age of 55,” Dr. Robert Lanza, ACTC’s chief scientific officer, said in a statement. “As the population ages, the incidence of AMD is expected to double over the next 20 years, further exacerbating this unmet medical need.”
Age-Related Macular Degeneration has two predominant forms, wet and dry. Dry AMD is the most common form, accounting for almost 90 percent of all cases. The progress of Dry AMD includes a breakdown or thinning of the layer of RPE cells in the patient’s macula, the region at the center of the retina responsible for high acuity vision. Over time, the progressive loss of RPE cells and accompanying loss of photoreceptors can cause severe vision loss and even blindness.
This marks the second FDA approved trial for ACTC’s stem cell product. The first came in November when ACTC received FDA approval for the second human trial of human embryonic stem cells to treat people with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness.
“ACT is now the first company to receive FDA clearance for two hESC trials, and is now a true translational leader in the field of regenerative medicine,” said Gary Rabin, Interim Chairman and CEO of ACTC in a statement. “It marks a major step forward, not just within the stem cell sector, but, potentially for modern healthcare techniques. We plan to proceed into the clinic with both of our hESC-based programs as quickly as possible.”
Shares of ACTC are up as much as 420 percent over the past three months.
Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (ADLS) surges 19 percent on new research report
Posted on: December 2nd, 2010Written by:
Shares of Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: ADLS) were up almost 19 percent in morning trading on Thursday after a favorable report was issued by Dawson James Securities.
The report stated that although the company has “significant near-term financial challenges,” Advanced Life Science Holdings shares are trading “at a significant discount to comparable anti-infective therapeutics- and Biodefense-focused companies.”
The company’s lead product, Restanza, which was created to address the need for treatment options for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), has exhibited high potency against key susceptible and respiratory pathogens resistant to the macrolide-, penicillin- and fluoroquinolone-class antibiotics. Restanza also exhibited strong activity against community–acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), which is a bacterial infection that is resistant to most antibiotics.
In March 2010, Advanced Life Sciences Holdings received guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on an approval pathway for Restanza in CABP. Several months later, the company reached agreement with the FDA on the design of a Phase III trial with Restanza under the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process. The trial is the first prospectively designed superiority study to be conducted in CABP.
“With FDA guidance, the planned Restanza Phase III trial has significant potential for success,” the Dawson James report stated. “Should it demonstrate superiority versus traditional agents such as azithromycin, we believe Restanza could realize blockbuster potential.”
Shares of ADLS are down about 38 percent over the past three months.
