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: 

• Novavax (NVAX), 1,246% surge in interest
• MacroGenics (MGNX), 992% surge in interest
• ADMA Biologics (ADMA), 88% surge in interest
• Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA), 26% surge in interest
• Biohaven Pharmaceutical (BHVN), 25% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Novavax says it promotes improved health by discovering, developing and commercializing innovative vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. Novavax offers a differentiated vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, innovative nanoparticle technology and Novavax’s patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response.

MacroGenics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company generates its pipeline of product candidates primarily from its proprietary suite of next-generation antibody-based technology platforms, which have applicability across broad therapeutic domains. “The combination of MacroGenics’ technology platforms and protein engineering expertise has allowed the company to generate promising product candidates and enter into several strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies,” MacroGenics states.

ADMA Biologics is an end-to-end commercial biopharmaceutical company dedicated to manufacturing, marketing and developing specialty biologics for the treatment of immunodeficient patients at risk for infection and others at risk for certain infectious diseases. Adma currently manufactures and markets three United States Food and Drug Administration-approved plasma-derived biologics for the treatment of immune deficiencies and the prevention of certain infectious diseases: BIVIGAM for the treatment of primary humoral immunodeficiency; ASCENIV for the treatment of PI; and NABI-HB to provide enhanced immunity against the hepatitis B virus. Through its Adma BioCenters subsidiary, Adma also operates as an FDA-approved source plasma collector in the U.S., which provides its blood plasma for the manufacture of its products.

Iovance Biotherapeutics is focused on developing and delivering tumor infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapies for patients with cancer. Its lead late-stage TIL product candidate, lifileucel for metastatic melanoma, “has the potential to become the first approved one-time cell therapy for a solid tumor cancer,” said the company, adding that its TIL platform has “demonstrated promising clinical data across multiple solid tumors.”

Biohaven is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of life-changing treatments in key therapeutic areas, including immunology, neuroscience, and oncology. The company is advancing its portfolio of therapeutics, leveraging its proven drug development experience and multiple proprietary drug development platforms. Biohaven’s clinical and preclinical programs include Kv7 ion channel modulation for epilepsy and mood disorders; extracellular protein degradation for immunological diseases; TRPM3 antagonism for migraine and neuropathic pain; TYK2/JAK1 inhibition for neuroinflammatory disorders; glutamate modulation for OCD and SCA; myostatin inhibition for neuromuscular and metabolic diseases, including SMA and obesity; and antibody recruiting, bispecific molecules and antibody drug conjugates for cancer.

Recent news on these stocks:

May 10

Novavax reported Q1 EPS of ($1.05), consensus ($1.06), and reported Q1 revenue of $93.86M, consensus $101.16M. Additionally, Novavax cut its FY24 revenue view to $400M-$600M from $800M-$1B and said it was prepared to initiate an additional cost reduction program to reduce 2025 R&D plus SG&A expenses to below $500M, a portion of which it expects to be reimbursed by Sanofi under the agreement, which reflects a greater than $225M reduction beyond prior stated targets. “Today we announce the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Novavax with the launch of a strategically important partnership with one of the world’s leading vaccine companies. We believe the combined strength of Novavax and Sanofi will enable us to better fulfill our mission of developing and improving access to life-saving vaccines,” said John Jacobs, CEO. “I am proud of the progress our company has made this quarter as we continue to advance our COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming 2024-2025 vaccination season and plan for the launch of our Phase 3 CIC and standalone influenza program in the second half of this year.”

Stifel downgraded MacroGenics to Hold from Buy with a price target of $7, down from $29, following management’s disclosure of interim safety and efficacy results from the Phase 2 TAMARACK trial. The firm’s concerns are not efficacy-driven, but rather reflect safety and tolerability data, which it says doesn’t appear meaningfully-differentiated from the prior Phase 1 dose-expansion experience. The updated TAMARACK safety and tolerability data also appears disconnected from previously described abstract results – with severe pneumonitis also now emerging as a treatment emergent adverse events of potentially significant concern, the analyst told investors in a research note.

May 9

Adma Biologics reported Q1 EPS of 8c, consensus 5c, and reported Q1 revenue of $81.9M, consensus $77.27M.”ADMA’s commercial success continues to unfold, and during the first quarter of 2024, we surpassed our financial expectations and delivered compounding earnings growth. The versatility and strength of our innovative business model has yet again provided for significant increases to both top- and bottom-line projections for 2024 and 2025,” said Adam Grossman, CEO and interim CFO of ADMA. “We believe ASCENIV’s record utilization coupled with BIVIGAM(R)‘s deepening entrenchment in the expanding U.S. IG market are driving our commercial growth and further solidifying our position as a leader in specialty biologics. With an unwavering commitment to serving immune deficient patients, we believe we are poised for enduring growth within our target markets for years to come.”Mr. Grossman continued, “Looking to the remainder of 2024, we are actively advancing our growth initiatives, including innovating our biologics production processes and enhancing yields, as well as progressing our preclinical pipeline program. We anticipate strong performance throughout the year and remain confident in our ability to exceed expectations and deliver value to our stakeholders, as well as further de-risking long-term growth initiatives.”

Iovance Biotherapeutics reported Q1 EPS of (42c), consensus (42c). As of March 31 , Iovance had cash, cash equivalents, investments, and restricted cash of approximately $362.6M, compared to $346.3M at December 31. The current cash position and anticipated revenue from Amtagvi and Proleukin are expected to be sufficient to fund current and planned operations well into the second half of 2025. Frederick Vogt, CEO of Iovance, stated, “The first quarter of 2024 was transformative for Iovance following our first FDA approval and our strong start for the U.S. commercial launch of Amtagvi for patients with advanced melanoma. Immediate demand for Amtagvi is very high and continues to significantly increase across initial ATCs. As of today, more than 100 patients have already enrolled for Amtagvi therapy. We have successfully manufactured and delivered Amtagvi to many ATCs where commercial patients are being treated. We expect our launch momentum to remain strong and continue to build as we ramp up the U.S. launch throughout 2024 with the authorization of additional ATCs. We also continue to execute across our broad clinical pipeline. As a fully integrated company, Iovance is well positioned to remain the global leader in innovating, developing, and delivering TIL cell therapy for patients with cancer.”

Biohaven reported Q1 EPS of ($2.20), consensus ($1.57). Cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash totaled approximately $287.6M on March 31, which excludes the net proceeds of approximately $247.8M from Biohaven’s public offering completed on April 22. CEO Vlad Coric commented, “We are excited about the clinical progress we are making across our entire portfolio and in particular, the recent initiation of the first-in-human study of BHV-1300 using our Molecular Degrader of Extracellular Protein MoDE technology. We were pleased to report preliminary safety and target engagement data showing degradation of IgG from the initial two low-dose cohorts of the ongoing BHV-1300 study. Thus far, BHV-1300 has also been well-tolerated with no significant adverse effects and no clinically significant lab abnormalities or ECG changes observed to date. We remain enthusiastic about the emerging profile of BHV-1300 and have multiple IND-enabling activities planned for several additional MoDEs directed at autoantibody-mediated disease targets over the next couple of years. MoDEs represent a transformative technology to modulate the immune system and specifically degrade extracellular targets known to cause disease. INDs from our MoDE platform planned for later this year include drug candidates that target autoantibodies against beta-1AR for the potential treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy and galactose deficient IgA for IgA nephropathy.”

Hear more from InvestingChannel by signing up for The Spill.

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.