January 16, 2017
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Sometimes a potential catalyst for a biotech company is obvious—an upcoming clinical trial announcement, an approval date, a product launch. Sometimes a potential catalyst is more technical in nature. Roberto Pedone, writing for TheStreet, cites three biotech companies that he believes are going to break out soon.
Headquartered in Jersey City, NJ, Scynexis focuses on developing and commercializing anti-infective agents. Its lead product candidate, SCY-078, is a novel antifungal currently in a Phase II clinical trial. The company’s most recent announcement was on December 13, 2016. On that date, it indicated two development milestones for SCY-078. In its Phase I intravenous (IV) program, it said it had identified the IV formulation dose regimen that it hoped to use for upcoming trials. It also announced it had expanded its SCY-078 toxicology program to include three-month oral dose studies in rats and dogs.
Pedone describes the stock as having recently “formed a double bottom chart pattern.” He writes, “Following that potential bottom, this stock has now started to bounce higher and trend back above both its 20-day moving average of $3.38 a share and its 50-day moving average of $3.46 a share. That bounce is now quickly pushing shares of Scynexis within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.”
Scynexis is currently trading at $3.60.
Based in South San Francisco, Calif., Threshold Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage company focusing on the cancer market. It has two therapeutic product candidates, evofosfamide and TH-3424. Evofosfamide is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy treatments in a broad array of solid tumor types and blood cancers. TH-3424 is a prodrug that releases a DNA cross-linking agent in the presence of AKR1C3, which in tumors that express it, are resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. It is being evaluated in liver cancer, prostate cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias, and cancers expressing high levels of aldo-keto reductase family 1 member C3 (AKR1C3).
On December 19, 2016, the company announced it had signed a collaboration deal with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study TH-3424. They will study TH-3424 against T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) xenograft cell lines with high AKR1C3 expression. It will be conducted through the NCI-funded Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium (PPTC).
Pedone notes a “major bottoming chart pattern.” The stock has been trading down the past six months by about 10.6 percent. He writes, “Following that potential bottom, shares of Threshold Pharmaceuticals have now started to bounce higher right off both its 50-day moving average of 46 cents per share and its 20-day moving average of 47 cents per share. That bounce off the moving averages is now quickly pushing this stock within range of triggering a big breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.”
Threshold is currently trading for $0.51.
Headquartered in Bannockburn, Ill., AveXis is a clinical-stage gene therapy company. Its lead therapy candidates is AVXS-101. In recent months, company stock jumped by 51.2 percent.
Pedone writes, “If you look at the chart for AveXis, you’ll notice that this stock has recently started to rebound higher right off its 20-day moving average of $51.29 a share. That rebound is coming after shares of AveXis found some big buying interest at $46.50 to $44.70 a share over the last few months. This stock is now starting to spike higher off its 20-day moving average, and it’s within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.”
AveXis is currently trading for $52.61.
