Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), Advaxis, inc. (OTC:ADXS), and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) are all in the business of fighting cancer in its various forms and 2012 looks like a good year for advancements in treatments and for bio-techs to raise capital.
All three of these companies have had significant run-ups recently and profit taking is to be expected and any subsequent dips could be just what “Value Hunters” are looking for. If you look at shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, they were trading in the $9.24 range on Oct 26 and hit $15.87 on Jan 11; that’s a gain of 71.75% in less than three months. Normal profit taking off of the Jan 11 has set and shares a dipped a little to their current $14.13 range. The ten-week run-up at SIPPI was a very steady ascent with small gives and takes along the way.
On Dec 9 the Company said that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) had granted FUSILEV Orphan Drug exclusivity for use in combination chemotherapy aimed at patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer. SPPI also noted FUSILEV therapeutic compositions are protected under a US Patent which expires at the end of December 2019.
At another cancer fighting biotech, Advaxis, shareholders have also seen gains in valuation. The stock was trading at $0.14 on Dec 14 and is currently trading in the $0.17 range; a gain of 21.4% in six weeks on some very choppy, but uptrend trading.
ADXS reported yesterday that it’s safety and efficacy Phase II trials for ADXS-HPV targeted for women with recurrent and/or refractory cervical cancer who have failed other therapies are returning very promising results with only 34% of trial participants experiencing non-cumulative flu-like symptoms.
At Celgene, shares have also climbed with the stock trading at $60.24 on Nov 25 and hitting a $74.02 top of the run-up on Tuesday of this week; a gain of 22.8% in two months. There’s been a little profit taking from the top of the run and shares are currently trading in the $73.26 range.
CELG announced today it would acquire privately held Avila Therapeutics to expand Celgene’s leading role in the future treatment of hematologic cancers with Avila’s AVL-292, a highly-selective inhibitor, currently in Phase I clinical trials.
I haven’t, don’t, and do not intend on holding any of the companies mentioned in this article.