Avrobio price target lowered to $19 from $27 at Leerink

Leerink analyst Mani Foroohar lowered his price target for Avrobio to $19 from $27, while reiterating a Market Perform rating on the shares. While the analyst is positive on recent additions to senior management, he is more conservative on the market opportunity for Fabry gene therapy given the need for higher-intensity preconditioning regimens than the company has used previously, and believes that the potential adoption of value-based annuity pricing models by the industry could pose further risk to Avrobio’s bottom line.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850161

NuVasive price target lowered to $59 from $70 at BTIG

BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman lowered his price target on NuVasive to $59 after meeting with its CEO Chris Barry, saying that he was “upfront” about the company FY18 results and may take the opportunity to reset expectations entering FY19. The analyst also keeps his Buy rating on NuVasive shares, noting that its valuation is at a 3-year lows even though the company is looking to accelerate its potential robotic commercialization.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850165

Aptinyx price target lowered to $22 from $35 at Leerink

Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges lowered his price target for Aptinyx to $22 from $35 following the negative result from the phase II study for NYX-2925 in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating on Aptinyx shares as the stock is currently trading around cash levels and further data disclosures from DPN, fibromyalgia, PTSD, and Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment programs later this year could clarify the various opportunities for the company's drug discovery platform.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850177

Spectrum sells portfolio to Acrotech for $160M upfront cash, $140M in milestones

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio of seven FDA-approved hematology/oncology products to Acrotech Biopharma, Acrotech Biopharma is a New Jersey-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma USA. The seven products included in the sale are: FUSILEV, FOLOTYN, ZEVALIN, MARQIBO, BELEODAQ, for injection, EVOMELA for injection, and KHAPZORY. The products generated combined sales of $76.4M during the first nine months of 2018. The Boards of Directors of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Aurobindo have both approved the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close within 90 days. Jefferies LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Spectrum. Paul Hastings LLP is acting as exclusive legal counsel to Spectrum. Under the terms of the deal, Acrotech will make a $160M up-front cash payment and up to $140M in milestones.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850179

Viking data ‘way better’ than Lipocine’s, STAT’s Feuerstein says

STAT’s Adam Feuerstein tweeted, “I could conduct another webinar on clinical trial red flags based solely on todays $LPCN liver fat study press release. Missing patients (and too few overall), no placebo control, skewed means, arbitrary data cutoffs, etc etc. $VKTX data way better.” Shares of Lipocine are up 72%, or $1.16, to $2.75 in premarket trading following this morning’s non-alcoholic steatohepatitis data while Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) is up 28c o $8.28.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850181

Spectrum to reduce staff by approx. 40%

“This divestiture marks a major strategic shift for Spectrum to ensure laser-focus on novel, oncology drug development and commercialization,” said Joe Turgeon, President and CEO of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. “The proceeds generated by the sale will significantly strengthen the financial position of the company, providing the capital to develop and commercialize our two late-stage pipeline assets, and placing us in a solid position to evaluate additional growth opportunities. Along with this divestiture, the majority of impacted staff will transition to Acrotech thereby right sizing Spectrum for our development efforts. Additionally, we are retaining a core group of commercial talent to lead the launch of ROLONTIS and poziotinib.”
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850183

Rafael Holdings announces study plan for devimistat with Folfirinox trial

Rafael Pharmaceuticals announced that the study plan for a Phase 3 Trial of devimistat in combination with modified Folfirinox as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer will be presented at the annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO. Devimistat is Rafael’s lead altered metabolism directed drug candidate, an anticancer compound designed to disrupt the altered mitochondrial metabolism in cancer cells. AVENGER 500 will compare the safety and efficacy of Folfirinox with devimistat in combination with modified Folfirinox. Patients 18-75 years old of both sexes with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, not previously treated for metastatic disease and with ECOG performance status of 0-1 are eligible for enrollment in this study. This is a prospective, open label, multinational randomized trial and will be conducted in 9 different countries including the United States, six European Union countries, Israel and South Korea.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2850211