Weekly Movers: CytRx, Coherus BioSciences, Juno Therapeutics…
pharmafile | July 15, 2016 | Feature | Business Services, Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |Â Â Coherus BioSciences, GW Pharmaceuticals, Sage Therapeutics, Share price, Shares, Stock Markets, cytrx, juno therapeuticsÂ
Shares in CytRx (Nasdaq: CYTR) lost nearly three-fourth in value after the company reported disappointing late-stage results for its lead drug candidate, aldoxorubicin, for cancer.
CytRx did attempt to point to mitigating circumstances explaining the poor quality of results. They indicate that enrolment was interrupted by a partial clinical hold in November 2014, and this meant that the current analysis of the data did not provide for sufficient follow-up for the nearly two-thirds of patients who entered the study after the hold was resolved and enrolment resumed.
Coherus BioSciences (Nasdaq: CHRS) shares jumped to close over 27% after the company said its biosimilar copy for Amgen’s (Nasdaq: AMGN) cancer drug Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) met all of its co-primary endpoints in a follow-on drug study.
The company said it expects to start commercial plans and preparations for the biosimilar candidate, CHS-1701, later this year.
Shares in Juno Therapeutics (Nasdaq: JUNO) jumped to close up almost 30% after the US Food and Drug Administration has lifted the hold on mid-stage trials for chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy to potentially treat blood cancer.
The regulators placed on hold the trials for refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia following the deaths of two patients from cerebral oedema.
The deaths followed the recent addition of chemotherapy drug, Fludarabine, to the pre-conditioning program, according to Juno.
GW Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: GWPH) stock dropped after the company said it plans to sell $150,000,000 of American Depositary Shares in a US public offering.
The biotech firm said it would raise $252 million and issue 2.8 million shares. The company plans to use the proceeds in order to fund pre-launch activities for Epidiolex and fund expansion of the drugs manufacturing capacity in order to meet anticipated demand. A part of the funds will also be used to explore other indications for the drug and also fund advancement of other pipeline opportunities.
Sage Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SAGE) stock jumped 37% after the company said mid-stage trials for its drug to treat postpartum depression met the primary endpoint.
The company said Phase II trials for the drug compound, SAGE-547, for potentially treating severe postpartum depression significantly reduced HAM-D score compared to placebo at 60 hours.
Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that can affect 1 in 7 women after childbirth. New mothers with PPD can experience symptoms such as sadness, anxiety and exhaustion, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. There are no approved therapies specifically for PPD.
Trial investigator Samantha Meltzer-Brody said: “This is potentially one of the most important clinical findings in the pharmacologic treatment of postpartum depression to date.”
Anjali Shukla
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