Today's Top 5 Gainers In Healthcare Sector (ACHN, VIVE, DMTK…)

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

1. Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACHN)

Achillion Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orally-administered, small molecule, Factor D inhibitors for the treatment of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria, C3 Glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.

Gained 72.04% to close Wednesday's (Oct.16) trading at $6.28.

News: The Company is all set to be acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) for an initial consideration of approximately $930 million, or $6.30 per share in cash. The transaction includes potential for additional consideration, say $1.00 per share for the U.S. FDA approval of Achillion's Danicopan and $1.00 per share for ACH-5228 Phase 3 initiation.

Danicopan (ACH-4471) is under phase II development for the treatment of C3 glomerulopathy, or C3G, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, while ACH-5228, also for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, is under phase I development.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020.

2. Viveve Medical Inc. (VIVE)

Viveve Medical is a revenue-generating medical technology company focused on women's intimate health. The Company markets the Viveve System, which is cleared by the FDA for use in general surgical procedures for electrocoagulation and hemostasis. However, outside of the U.S., the device has won clearances for vaginal laxity and/or improvement in sexual function indications in over 50 countries.

Gained 39.47% to close Wednesday's trading at $5.30.

News: No news

Recent event:

On October 1, 2019, the Company completed its at-the-market (ATM) offering of $6.76 million of shares of its common stock with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. as the sales agent. Over 1 million shares were sold at a weighted average price of $6.73 per share, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $6.56 million to the company after deduction of sales commissions.

A one-for-100 reverse stock split of the Company's common stock became effective after trading closed on September 18, 2019.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- A clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of Viveve System for the improvement of sexual function in women following vaginal childbirth, dubbed VIVEVE II Study, is underway. Enrollment in the study was completed in March 2019, with top-line 12-month data read-out expected in April 2020. -- In August 2019, clinical results from LIBERATE-International, a multi-center study evaluating the Company's proprietary, cryogen-cooled monopolar radiofrequency (CMRF) technology for the improvement of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women, were reported. Although the study did not meet its primary endpoint, review of the full clinical data demonstrates a consistency of benefit at six months post-treatment across all endpoints in the majority of patients within both groups, according to the Company.

3. Assembly Biosciences Inc. (ASMB)

Assembly Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics targeting hepatitis B virus (HBV) and diseases associated with the microbiome.

Gained 36.72% to close Wednesday's trading at $12.72.

News: The Company announced encouraging final data from its long-term Phase 2a trial combining ABI-H0731 a potent core inhibitor, for the treatment of HBV, with Nuc (Nucleos(t)Ide therapy.

The data demonstrated that the addition of H0731 to nucleos(t)ide therapy not only produces faster and deeper declines in HBV DNA and pgRNA for patients, but also subsequent declines in the surrogate markers predictive of cccDNA pool depletion.

The Company also revealed that potent antiviral activity was observed in the first cohort of HBeAg+ patients treated in 14-day monotherapy phase I study of ABI-H2158 in HBV-infected subjects.

4. Ocugen Inc. (OCGN)

Ocugen is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of innovative therapies that address rare and underserved eye diseases.

Gained 35.29% to close Wednesday's trading at $2.07.

News: No news

Recent Events:

-- On October 9, 2019, the Company announced a $2 million share repurchase program. -- On September 30, 2019, the Company entered into a partnership with CanSino Biologics to develop OCU400, a novel gene therapy with the potential to be broadly effective in restoring retinal integrity and function across a range of genetically diverse inherited degenerative retinal diseases.

Near-term Catalyst:

The most advanced product candidate in the pipeline is OCU300, which is under phase III development, for ocular graft versus host disease. Topline results from this study are expected in the second half of 2020.

5. DermTech Inc. (DMTK)

DermTech is a company operating in the new category of medicine, precision dermatology, enabled by a non-invasive skin genomics platform.

Gained 29.21% to close Wednesday's trading at $8.05.

News: A panel of dermatologists and dermatopathologists with expertise in pigmented lesions, melanoma, and gene expression technology has recommended the Company's non-invasive PLA (Pigmented Lesion Assay), or 2-Gene Expression Profile test for use in specific clinical situations.

Commenting on the development, Todd Wood, Chief Commercial Officer for DermTech, said, "We are glad that experts are recognizing the clinical value of our non-invasive genomic test for melanoma, which enhances early detection while reducing unnecessary biopsies and scarring of non-cancerous lesions. We are excited to bring the technology to patients."