JUNO Flies On Takeover Rumor, PRTO For Long Haul, SUPN Gaining Strength

(RTTNews) - The following are some of today's top gainers in the pharma/biotech sector.

1. Juno Therapeutics Inc. (JUNO)

Gained 51.86% to close Wednesday's (Jan.17) trading at $69.25.

News: The Company is rumored to be acquired by Celgene Corp. (CELG).

Juno's lead CAR-T therapy candidate is JCAR017, and it is under phase I/II testing in Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Juno has a ten-year collaboration in place with Celgene that was inked in June 2015, to advance potentially groundbreaking immunotherapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases.

If the rumor about the acquisition is true, then this will be Celgene's second purchase for the year. On January 8, 2018, Celgene agreed to acquire privately-held cancer drug maker Impact Biomedicines for as much as $7 billion.

2. Proteon Therapeutics Inc. (PRTO)

Gained 21.28% to close Wednesday's trading at $2.85.

News: No news

Pipeline:

The Company's lead drug candidate is Vonapanitase, which is under a phase III study in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing surgical creation of a radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis, dubbed PATENCY-2. Vonapanitase is also under a phase I clinical trial in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Complete enrollment of 600 patients in PATENCY-2 in the first quarter of 2018. -- Report top-line data from PATENCY-2 in the first quarter of 2019.

3. Pain Therapeutics Inc. (PTIE)

Gained 12.68% to close Wednesday's trading at $7.91.

News: No news

Recent event:

-- On January 9, 2018, the Company announced positive results from a human abuse potential study of its late-stage drug candidate, REMOXY.

REMOXY ER is a proprietary, abuse-deterrent, extended-release oral formulation of oxycodone. The proposed indication for this drug candidate is for "the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

REMOXY ER was issued a Complete Response Letter by the FDA in September 2016.

Near-term Catalyst:

-- Resubmit NDA for REMOXY in Q1, 2018.

4. Restoration Robotics Inc. (HAIR)

The Company commercializes ARTAS Robotic Hair Restoration System, which is CE-marked and FDA cleared.

Gained 11.06% to close Wednesday's trading at $4.52.

News: No news

Recent events:

-- On January 5, 2018, Mark L. Hair assumed the post of Chief Financial Officer from Charlotte Holland. -- On October 16, 2017, the Company announced the closing of its initial public offering of 3.57 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $7.00 each. The Company's common stock began trading on The NASDAQ Global Market on October 12, 2017.

5. Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. (APVO)

Gained 10.02% to close Wednesday's trading at $3.46.

News: No news

You can find more about APVO in our premium stock report. Our premium subscribers were alerted to the stock on November 6, 2017, when it was trading around $2.83. The stock had touched a high of $4.85 on January 3, 2018.

6. Compugen Ltd. (CGEN)

Gained 10.02% to close Wednesday's trading at $3.46.

News: No news

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

-- File IND application for COM701, an immuno-oncology therapeutic antibody candidate, towards the end of Q1, 2018. COM701 may be tested in the indications of lung, ovary, breast, endometrial, kidney, and head & neck cancers. -- Initiate phase I study of COM701 in 2018.

Another product candidate is CGEN-15001T mAb, which is being developed in collaboration with Bayer. This compound is currently in IND-enabling studies.

7. Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SUPN)

Gained 8.77% to close Wednesday's trading at $46.50.

News: No news

The Company has two marketed products Oxtellar XR for epilepsy, and Trokendi XR for epilepsy and migraine. The net product sales growth over the years has been strong, with a CAGR of over 46%.

Net product sales for full year 2017 are expected to be between $290 million to $295 million, up from $210 million in 2016.

The advanced products in the Company's pipeline are SPN-810 for impulsive aggression, and SPN-812 for ADHD in pediatric and adolescent patients, both of which are under phase III trials. The epilepsy drug Oxtellar XR is being explored in bipolar disorder, and a Phase I/II study in this indication is underway. Also in the pipeline is SPN-809, which is a phase II ready compound for depression.

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Report fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results on February 26, 2018. -- Data from phase III trial of SPN-810 for impulsive aggression are expected in Q1, 2019. -- Data from phase III trial of SPN-812 for ADHD are anticipated in Q4, 2018/Q1, 2019.

8. Cellectis S.A. (CLLS)

Gained 8.68% to close Wednesday's trading at $30.19.

Cellectis is a gene editing company focused on developing next generation immunotherapies based on gene-edited CAR T-cells.

News: No news

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

The Company has two product candidates in clinical testing - UCART19 & UCART123.

UCART19 is under phase I trials in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and UCART123 is under phase I trial in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN).

-- Interim data on phase I study of UCART123 in AML is expected in 2018.

9. Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (APLS)

Gained 8.15% to close Wednesday's trading at $19.50.

News: No news

Recent event:

The Company debuted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 9, 2017, offering its shares at a price of $14.00 each.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- APL-2 has been successfully studied in a phase II clinical trial (FILLY) in patients with geographic atrophy associated with age-related macular degeneration. -- APL-2 is also under two phase Ib trials in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria - one as monotherapy and the other as add-on to Soliris. -- A phase III program of APL-2 for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy (GA) associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is planned to begin in the second half of 2018.