Nearly 8 in 10 small businesses now fully or partially open: poll

Small businesses are starting to recover following the cornavirus shutdowns.
Most small businesses are open in some capacity and are increasingly optimistic about the future, although there are challenges ahead.

That is the findings of a poll released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife.

Nearly eight in ten small businesses (79%) are either fully or partially open.

Small businesses that were temporarily closed due to the coronvirus pandemic at some point, 43 percent have reopened. Those still closed are split over if they will open in the next two weeks.
“Businesses across the country are beginning to reopen but see a long road ahead. There is still a need for Congress to pass targeted, temporary, and timely assistance for small businesses,” said Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
On the question of how long will it take to return to normal, the majority say six months or more. others are more pessimistic.

Meanwhile, two-thirds (66 percent) are concerned about having to close again, or stay closed, if there is a second wave of the coronavirus.
The percentages vary in different regions.

On the topic of hiring, most small businesses see rehiring within six months, with 71 percent say they’ll have about the same number of employees they had before the pandemic.
Although 22 percent report having less employees, more than half anticipate rehiring within six months.
Overall, the majority of small businesses say their businesses are in good shape and one in four rate the US. economy as good. Compared to last month, less businesses are saying the economy is poor.
More than eight in ten small businesses report that they are making or planning to make adaptations in response to the coronavirus.
As small businesses adapt to the new environment, three in ten (30 percent) anticipate needing more guidelines on how to keep customers and employees safe and well.

The poll was taken May 21 – 27, 2020, prior to the civil unrest now gripping cities across our country.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/nearly-8-in-10-small-businesses-now-fully-or-partially-open-poll

Pliant Therapeutics prices IPO at $16

Pliant Therapeutics (PLRX) has priced its IPO of 9M common shares at $16.00/share, for expected gross proceeds of $144M.

Underwriters’ over-allotment is an additional 1.35M shares.

Trading kicks off today.

Additionally, Pliant has also agreed to sell an additional 625K common shares in a concurrent private placement at $16.00/share to one of its existing investors, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Closing date for both the offerings is June 5.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3579896-pliant-therapeutics-prices-ipo-16

Replimune lead drug shows benefit in non-melanoma skin cancer

Replimune (NASDAQ:REPL) announces new data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating the combination of lead candidate RP1 and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE:BMY) Opdivo (nivolumab) in patients with solid tumors.

Preliminary results from the 30-subject non-melanoma skin cancer cohort showed positive action. At data cutoff, the response rate was 86% (n=6/7) including a 57% (n=4/7) complete response rate.

Overall, 36 melanoma patients have been treated. Five have “met the formal criteria for response.” Four of the five failed to respond to prior anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapies.

Its 240-subject Phase 2 study evaluating the combination of RP1 and Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) and Sanofi’s (NASDAQ:SNY) Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc) in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma patients, CERPASS, is currently recruiting participants.

RP1 is based on a strain of herpes simplex virus engineered to maximize the anti-cancer effect and activate a systemic anti-tumor immune response.

Management hosted a conference call this morning at 8:00 am ET to discuss the data.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3579961-replimune-lead-drug-shows-benefit-in-non-melanoma-skin-cancer

BeiGene’s zanubrutinib OK’d in China for blood cancers

Under priority review status, China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved BeiGene’s (NASDAQ:BGNE) Brukinsa (zanubrutinib) for the treatment of adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) who have received at least one prior therapy and adults with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy.

The FDA OK’d the BTK inhibitor in November 2019 for MCL.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3579967-beigenes-zanubrutinib-okd-in-china-for-blood-cancers

Cassava Sciences rallies on hopes for Alzheimer’s candiate PTI-125

Nano cap Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) jumps 15% premarket on robust volume on the heels of its update on an unsuccessful mid-stage study of PTI-125 in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients.

It believes that the trial failed due to the high variability in biomarker levels over 28 days in the control group, in addition to other factors. As such, it plans to reanalyze the cerebrospinal fluid from all subjects.

It also plans to analyze lymphocyte and plasma samples from all participants aimed at generating direct evidence of PTI-125 target engagement.

And lastly, it will assess the effects of PTI-125 on cognition which may provide evidence of at least stabilization of cognitive decline in AD patients.

Results from the relook should be available in H2.

Small molecule PTI-125 targets an altered form of filamin A, a scaffolding protein found throughout the body. A highly toxic form of the protein is present in the brains of AD sufferers which disrupts the normal function of neurons, leading to neurodegeneration and brain inflammation. PTI-125 is designed to restore the normal shape of filamin A in the brain, improving the function of multiple brain receptors and dampening neuroinflammation.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3579998-cassava-sciences-rallies-on-hopes-for-alzheimers-candiate-ptiminus-125

Bristol-Myers’ Orencia shows sustained benefit in post-market RA study

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) announces positive results from the open-label switch period of a Phase IV exploratory biomarker study, Early AMPLE, comparing the effects on disease progression of Orencia (abatacept) and adalimumab [branded version is AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) Humira] in patients with moderate-to-severe early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who tested positive for certain autoantibodies.

Results showed that seropositive RA patients treated with Orencia showed “substantial clinical improvements” at week 48 sustaining responses observed at week 24 compared to adalimumab. The results are being virtually presented at EULAR 2020.

76 seropositive RA patients entered the open-label switch period. At week 48, the ACR 20/50/70 (20 – 70% improvement in RA symptoms) response rates were 78%, 63% and 50%, respectively, compared to 83%, 73% and 50%, respectively, at week 24. By comparison, the week 24 response rates for adalimumab were 63%, 45% and 30%, respectively.

RA patients with a genetic marker called Shared Epitope (SE) who continued on Orencia showed “numerically higher responses” than the broader seropositive population at week 48, suggesting the potential value of SE as a predictor of response to Orencia.

No new safety signals were observed.

The FDA first approved the T cell costimulation modulator for RA in December 2005.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3579984-bristol-myers-orencia-shows-sustained-benefit-in-post-market-ra-study

Quest Diagnostics sees faster-than-expected recovery in U.S. testing volumes

Quest Diagnostics said on Wednesday it saw a higher recovery in its testing volumes in the United States where state and local governments were slowly lifting restrictions after the coronavirus lockdowns.
The diagnostics company said the volumes had recovered faster than it had expected at the time of reporting its first-quarter results in April, when it saw them decline in excess of 40% during the last two weeks of March.
If the testing volumes, including its COVID-19 molecular and antibody tests, continue to rise, Quest’s adjusted profit for the second quarter bit.ly/3dsDPNq could be in the “range of breakeven to slightly profitable”, the company said.
Quest received emergency use authorization for its self-collection COVID-19 test kit from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, and expects to have more than half a million kits available by end of June.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-questdiagnostics-forecast/quest-diagnostics-sees-faster-than-expected-recovery-in-u-s-testing-volumes-idUSKBN23A1SN