ADMP's Symjepi Hits Walgreen's Shelves, LLY's Antibody Cuts COVID-19 Risk By 80%, FLDM On Watch

(RTTNews) - Today's Daily Dose brings you news about the effectiveness of Lilly's Bamlanivimab in reducing the risk of contracting symptomatic COVID-19 among residents and staff of long-term care facilities, executive changes at BiondVax Pharma, regulatory update on Genetic Technologies' COVID-19 PRS Test, Adamis' SYMJEPI products being made available in the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club, Fluidigm's Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay receiving the CE-IVD mark.

Read on…

1. Adamis to Offer SYMJEPI in Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (ADMP) surged more than 90% in after-hours Thursday, on news of its SYMJEPI products now being available to members of the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club program.

The SYMJEPI products are being offered at a discounted price of $99.99 for a two-pack, the lowest price offered for epinephrine products and the lowest price for epinephrine devices on the market.

SYMJEPI injection products are approved by the FDA for use in the emergency treatment of acute allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

ADMP closed Thursday's trading at $1.27, down 11.19%.

2. BiondVax Ropes in GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine Executive To head company

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BVXV) has appointed Amir Reichman as its new CEO, effective March 2, 2021.

Amir Reichman is currently working at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine in Belgium as Head of Global Vaccines Engineering Core Technologies and Asset Management. Prior to his current position in global vaccine engineering, he was the Global GSK Vaccines Supply Chain Senior Director.

Ron Babecoff, BiondVax's founder and current CEO, will share duties during a transition period while Reichman completes his work obligations at GlaxoSmithKline.

BVXV closed Thursday's trading at $5.95, up 40.66%.

3. Fluidigm's COVID-19 Test Gets Certified in Europe

Shares of Fluidigm Corp. (FLDM) were up over 26% in extended trading Thursday, on news of the company receiving CE-IVD mark for its Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay, an extraction-free saliva-based test to detect nucleic acid from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay does not require collection via invasive nasopharyngeal swab, and studies have demonstrated 100 percent agreement between saliva results from the Advanta Dx Assay and results from paired nasopharyngeal samples tested with authorized assays.

The company will be offering the Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay for 5 euros per test, based on volume and other factors.

The total addressable market for COVID-19 testing in Europe is estimated to be $5 billion to $7 billion in 2021, according to the company.

FLDM closed Thursday's trading at $6.16, up 5.12%. In after-hours, the stock was up another 26.62% at $7.80.

4. Genetic Technologies Forges Ahead With COVID-19 PRS Test

Genetic Technologies Limited (GENE) expects to make submission for regulatory clearance of its COVID-19 serious disease risk Polygenic Risk Score Test (COVID-19 PRS Test) via Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services/Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CMS/CLIA) by the end of this quarter.

The company added that its Germline Testing division will initially focus on BRCA testing to align with its GeneType for Breast Cancer product and Lynch Syndrome testing to align with its GeneType for Colorectal Cancer.

Genetic Technologies plans to release its quarterly results for the period ending December 31, 2020, on Thursday, January 28, 2021.

GENE closed Thursday's trading at $5.48, up 27.44%.

5. Lilly's Antibody Reduces Risk of COVID-19 at Nursing Homes by 80%

Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) says that its monoclonal antibody therapy Bamlanivimab reduced the risk of contracting symptomatic COVID-19 among residents and staff of long-term care facilities by 80% compared to residents in the same facility randomized to placebo.

As part of a COVID-19 prevention trial, dubbed BLAZE-2, residents and staff at skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across the U.S. were randomized to receive either 4,200 mg of Bamlanivimab or placebo.

Among those who enrolled in the study, 965 participants were negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus at baseline (299 residents and 666 staff) and 132 participants (41 residents and 91 staff) tested positive for the virus at baseline.

After 8 weeks of follow-up, there was a significantly lower frequency of symptomatic COVID-19 in the Bamlanivimab treatment arm versus placebo, which was the primary endpoint of the study.

Bamlanivimab is authorized for emergency use by the FDA for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

Commenting on the study results, Myron Cohen, CoVPN co-principal investigator and director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said, "The results of this innovative study further support the belief that Bamlanivimab - and potentially other monoclonal antibodies - can reduce symptoms and may even prevent COVID-19."

LLY closed Thursday's trading at $202.35, up 0.54%.

6. Stocks That Gained/Lost the Most

Celsion Corporation (CLSN) closed Thursday's trading at $1.74, up 36.47%.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (CRBP) closed at $2.36, up 35.63%.

ReWalk Robotics Ltd. (RWLK) closed at $2.64, up 32%.

Obalon Therapeutics, Inc. (OBLN) closed at $5.19, up 37.32%.

Cancer Genetics Inc. (CGIX) closed at $4.30, down 26.62%.