Biotech stocks posted losses for the third straight week, as the sector reacted to broader market weakness and announcements out of the 2022 JPMorgan Healthcare conference.
Swiss biotech Molecular Partners AG was among the best-performing stocks in the past week following the release of positive Phase 2 data for partnered COVID-19 antiviral treatment.
Ahead of the fourth-quarter reporting season, preannouncements continued to dominate biotech news.
The week also witnessed the debut of Hillstream Biopharma Inc. following its initial public offering, which raised $15 million in gross proceeds for the oncology-focused company.
Conferences
Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference: Jan. 14–19, in Koloa, Hawaii.American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium: Jan. 20–22 (hybrid format, in San Francisco, California, and virtual).
Clinical Data Readouts/Presentations
Dermatology Conference Presentations
ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited: Results from the dose escalation portion of the completed Phase 1b Proof-of-Concept study of ASLAN004 in atopic dermatitis.ASCO-GI Conference Presentations
Cardiff Oncology Inc: Updated data from its lead clinical program in KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer; ahead of the presentation, the company is scheduled to host a conference call and webcast Tuesday, at 5 pm, to discuss the data.Panbela Therapeutics Inc: Efficacy of SBP-101, administered in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; the full abstract will be made available on Tuesday, at 5 pm.
AstraZeneca PLC: Results from the HIMALAYA Phase 3 trial of tremelimumab added to Imfinzi in 1st-line unresectable liver cancer and results from the TOPAZ-1 Phase 3 trial for Imfinzi plus chemotherapy in advanced biliary tract cancer (both due Friday).
Tyme Technologies Inc: Results from the Phase 2/3 study of SM-88 in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
SFNP Meeting Presentations
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc: Full 18-month results from the HELIOS-A Phase 3 study of vutrisiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic in development for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis; the management will discuss the data via a conference call on Friday at 8:30 am.Earnings
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Thursday, after the close).IPOs
IPO Pricing
New Jersey-based Samsara Vision Inc. has filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC related to its proposed initial public offering of 4.17 million shares. The medical device company that focuses on treatments for late-stage conditions of the retina expects the IPO to be priced between $5 and $7. It has applied for listing its common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SMSA.Washington-based Modular Medical Inc. is planning a $2.402-million-share IPO. The stock is presently traded on the over-the-counter market and quoted on the OTCQB market under the symbol “MODD.” On Jan. 10, the last reported sale price of the common stock was $12.49 per share.
Modular Medical is a development stage medical device company focused on the design, development, and commercialization of an insulin pump using modernized technology to increase pump adoption in the diabetes marketplace. The company has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “MODD.”
Florida-based Jupiter Neurosciences Inc. is offering 3.33 million units, each unit consisting of one share of its common stock, and one warrant to purchase one share of its common stock at an exercise price per share of $6. The company said it intends to apply to list its common stock and warrants on the Nasdaq under the symbols “JUNS” and “JUNSW” respectively.
