Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

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

• Redhill Biopharma (RDHL), 2,177% surge in interest
• Incyte Corp (INCY), 246% surge in interest
• Fate Therapeutics (FATE), 203% surge in interest
• Biocryst Pharma (BCRX), 161% surge in interest
• Cabaletta Bio (CABA), 39% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

RedHill Biopharma is primarily focused on gastrointestinal and infectious diseases. RedHill promotes the gastrointestinal drugs, Movantik for opioid-induced constipation in adults, Talicia for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in adults, and Aemcolo for the treatment of travelers’ diarrhea in adults. RedHill’s key clinical late-stage development programs include: RHB-204, with an ongoing Phase 3 study for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria disease; opaganib, or ABC294640, a first-in-class oral SK2 selective inhibitor targeting multiple indications with a Phase 2/3 program for hospitalized COVID-19 and Phase 2 studies for prostate cancer and cholangiocarcinoma ongoing; RHB-107, or upamostat, an oral serine protease inhibitor in a Phase 3-stage study as treatment for non-hospitalized symptomatic COVID-19, and targeting multiple other cancer and inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases; RHB-104, with positive results from a first Phase 3 study for Crohn’s disease; and RHB-102 , with positive results from a Phase 3 study for acute gastroenteritis and gastritis and positive results from a Phase 2 study for IBS-D.

Incyte is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on finding solutions for serious unmet medical needs through the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics.

Fate Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing a first-in-class pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cellular immunotherapies to patients with cancer and autoimmune disorders. Using its proprietary iPSC product platform, “the company has established a leadership position in creating multiplexed-engineered iPSC lines and in the manufacture and clinical development of off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived cell products,” the company states.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals discovers novel, oral, small-molecule medicines that treat rare diseases in which significant unmet medical needs exist and an enzyme plays a key role in the biological pathway of the disease. Oral, once-daily Orladeyo is approved in the United States and many global markets. BioCryst has active programs to develop oral medicines for multiple targets across the complement system, including BCX10013, an oral Factor D inhibitor in clinical development. Rapivab is approved in the U.S. and multiple global markets, with post-marketing commitments ongoing.

Cabaletta Bio is focused on the discovery and development of engineered T cell therapies that have the potential to provide a deep and durable, perhaps curative, treatment for patients with autoimmune diseases. The CABA platform encompasses chimeric antigen receptor T cells for autoimmunity and Cabaletta Bio’s proprietary chimeric autoantibody receptor T cells.

Recent news on these stocks:

September 19

Citi kept a Buy rating on Incyte with an $82 price target after the FDA approved GSK’s (GSK) Ojjaara for intermediate to high-risk myelofibrosis in adults with anemia, irrespective of prior treatment. The analyst expects some impact on Incyte’s Jakafi penetration, but sees the therapy remaining the frontline in the overall myelofibrosis population. While the Phase 3 SIMPLIFY studies failed to establish Ojjaara non-inferiority to Jakafi overall, the FDA label recognizes Ojjaara’s frontline splenic benefit in the subset of anemic myelofibrosis patients, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

September 18

RedHill Biopharma announced FDA approval of its supplemental new drug application for Talicia, allowing a change to a more flexible three times daily, taken at least 4 hours apart with food, dosing regimen for H. pylori eradication. This differs from the previously approved dosing regimen, which required dosing every eight hours with food, by enabling patients to follow a convenient “breakfast, lunch and dinner” dosing routine, which may support increased patient adherence and optimize the potential for successful H. pylori eradication.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that the Institut national d’excellence en sante et services sociaux, INESSS, has issued a positive recommendation for ORLADEYO to be reimbursed for the prevention of hereditary angioedema, HAE, attacks in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older in Quebec. “We are committed to bringing ORLADEYO to as many Canadians living with HAE as possible. This announcement from INESSS, which follows the positive recommendation from CADTH earlier this year, takes us one step closer to making our oral, once-daily therapy available to Canadians who are in need of a new option to help improve control of their HAE attacks,” said Anand Janack, VP and general manager of BioCryst Canada.

Wells Fargo raised the firm’s price target on Cabaletta Bio to $39 from $14 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm likes the setup for Cabaletta Bio’s shares over the next 6-12 months as it thinks potential competitor datasets could further validate CABA-201 ahead of its Phase 1/2 data in the first half of 2024. At a $585M market cap, Wells believes there remains significant upside from current levels.

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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.