April 22, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Although volatility is the name of the game in biotech stocks, big and small, some analysts think after a lengthy bear market prices are starting to climb, and everybody will likely know a little bit more as most companies release their yearly financial reports and projections in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Bret Jensen, writing for Seeking Alpha, discusses two small biotech companies that he thinks are likely to take off soon.
First up is Watertown, Mass.-.based pSivida Corp. . The company focuses on miniaturized, sustained-release drug delivery systems. The company’s Durasert technology essentially is very small devices that can have already approved drugs inserted into them, which are then injected into the body. Instead of a patient receiving regular injections from their physician, a single injection of a microinsert acts as a very long-acting time-release capsule that could last for months or possible years.
The tech has been primarily used in eye-related diseases so far. It licensed Durasert to Pfizer (PFE) for the development stage of latanoprost. It has licensed Durasert to Alimera Sciences for Iluvien. Iluvien has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema in patients that have already had corticosteroids and didn’t have a significant increase in intraocular pressure. Global sales, according to Jensen, were slightly over $22 million in 2015 and should grow.
The company is also expected to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for Medidur for chronic noninfectious uveitis at the back of the eye sometime next year, and in Europe later. “The company reported successful Phase III trial results for this treatment late in 2015,” Jensen writes. “The company provided solid six month safety results in mid-March. Submission of the NDA could be a positive catalyst for the stock when it occurs in the near future.”
pSivida is currently trading for $3.40 per share. Shares traded for a high of $4.82 on Dec. 31, 2015, and a low of $2.50 on Mar. 17, 2016.
The Franklin Independent reported today that three analysts rated it a “strong buy.” The highest projection was $12.50 and the lowest target price was $6.
The second possible growth company is New York-based TG Therapeutics . The company focuses on B-cell cancers and autoimmune diseases. It currently is working on two drugs, TG-1101 (ublituximab) that targets an antigen on B-lymphocytes, and TGR-1202, and also targets B-cells. They are being evaluated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). It also has preclinical programs for IRAK4 inhibtors, anti-PD-L1 and anti-GITR antibodies.
The company’s UNITY-CLL trial received a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) in 2015 for patients with front-line and relapsed/refractory CLL. “If successful,” writes Jensen, “this trial should provide TG-1303 with a broad approval in CLL offering patients in both front-line and relapsed/refractory setting, a novel, chemo free treatment option. It also will allow the company to use TG-1303 as a base for future triple and possibly quad combination therapies.”
Analysts have been giving TG Therapeutics a “buy” rating overall. Brean Capital repeated a “buy” rating on March 8 with a price target of $28. H.C. Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on March 9 with a $22 price target. And this week FBR Capital repeated a “buy” rating with a $33 price target.
TG Therapeutics is currently trading for $10.11. Shares traded for a high of $18.74 on July 14, 2015 and a low of $7.83 on Feb 2, 2016.
