Vir Biotechnology, Inc. declared it is launching to develop cures, treatments, and preventions for challenging infectious diseases, with former Biogen CEO George Scangos heading a team of scientific and industry leaders. The company will be headquartered in the San Francisco, California, area and will seek to apply immune programming at an unprecedented scale.
Vir brings together cutting-edge innovations with leading scientific expertise and management to take on some of the world’s most challenging infectious diseases for which solutions are non-existent or inadequate. Vir seeks to take a new approach, using breakthroughs in immune programming to manipulate pathogen-host interactions. The company will take a multi-program, multi-platform approach to applying these breakthroughs, guided by rigorous science and driven by medical need.
Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ENTA), with shares high 1.86% is now trading at $36.05. The Stock is active as 377,465.00 shares changed hands versus its average volume of 246,783.00 shares. For investors focus on the performance of the stocks so the ENTA showed weekly ahead performance of 7.26% which was maintained for the month at 9.44%. Correspondingly the positive performance for the quarter was remained 38.87% and if took notice on yearly performance that was 17.89% whereas the year to date performance halted at - 7.61%.
Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ENTA), a research and development-focused biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases, recently declared the highlights of its business overview and research and development program update that will be presented at the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on January 11, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. PT. The presentation will provide updates on Enanta’s development programs in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)/primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), hepatitis C virus, (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), in addition to an update on the company’s HCV assets. In addition, new in vivo data will be presented on EDP-305, Enanta’s lead FXR agonist for NASH and PBC and on EDP-938, Enanta’s new non-fusion inhibitor development candidate for RSV.
The following are details of Enanta’s research and development programs updates and expectations for the coming year.
Research and Development Update:
EDP-305, FXR agonist for NASH:
- New in vivo data will be presented by Dr. Yury V. Popov at the NASH-TAG conference later recently. In a poster presentation titled, “A novel and highly potent FXR agonist EDP-305 suppresses liver injury and fibrosis in a murine model of steatohepatitis” (Popov, et al.), therapeutic efficacy data in mice with steatohepatitis and fibrosis is presented in comparison with the first-in-class FXR agonist, obeticholic acid (OCA). The data demonstrate that treatment with EDP-305 improved pre-established liver injury and hepatic fibrosis in an MCD-induced model of steatohepatitis in mice. EDP-305 at both doses (10 and 30 mg/kg) had a strong inhibitory effect on liver fibrosis progression, with up to 70% reduction in hepatic collagen deposition (p<0.05, ANOVA) as determined biochemically via hydroxyproline measurement. Histologically, MCD-fed control mice developed the advanced perisinusoidal fibrosis (“chicken wire”) characteristic of NASH. Treatment with EDP-305 was associated with markedly reduced periosinusoidal fibrosis contrast to the placebo group.1
- Data will be presented from a poster titled “The Novel Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) agonist, EDP-305, Reduces Fibrosis Progression in Bile Duct Ligated Rats”, (B. Fuchs, et al.). This data, formerly presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) meeting in November, demonstrated that EDP-305 reduced liver fibrosis in CDAHFD and BDL rodent models.3
- As formerly declared on January 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted EDP-305 Fast Track designation for the treatment of patients with NASH with liver fibrosis.
- Enanta anticipates to complete a phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteers and presumptive NAFLD subjects by mid-2017, to initiate a phase 2 clinical study in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and to perform NASH-enabling studies in the second half of 2017, and anticipates to initiate a phase 2 clinical study in patients with NASH in early 2018.
Neuralstem, Inc (NASDAQ:CUR), with shares fell -2.25% is now trading at $0.308. The Stock is active as 3.14M shares changed hands versus its average volume of 568,493.00 shares. The stock is going forward its 52 week low with 62.05% and lagging behind from its 52 week high price with - 71.75%. CUR last month stock price volatility remained 7.93%.
Neuralstem, Inc. (CUR), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of central nervous system therapies based on its neural stem cell technology, recently declared a reverse stock split of its shares of common stock at a ratio of 1-for-13. The reverse stock split will become effective on Friday, January 6, 2017 after market close and shares of Neuralstem Inc. common stock will trade on a post-split basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the Company’s existing trading symbol, “CUR,” at the market open on Monday, January 9, 2017.
The reverse stock split facilitates Neuralstem to regain compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price condition and thereby fulfill all of the NASDAQ Capital Market continued listing requirements.
“The reverse split together with the recent $20 million planned investment has raised our shareholder equity, strengthened our capital structure, and allows us to satisfy all the Nasdaq listing requirements,” commented Rich Daly, Chairman and CEO, Neuralstem. “Over the last year we have continued to execute on the new operational and clinical strategy to assist increase shareholder confidence and interest in Neuralstem. We look forward to focusing on providing our Phase 2 MDD clinical trial results this year.”
