With the end of summer, conference season is upon us! Not OneMedForum, of course, which doesn’t kick off until “Biotech Week” in mid-January. But in New York, investors gathered for the autumn solstice at the BioCentury NewsMakers Conference early September in Times Square, and at the annual Rodman & Renshaw Global Investment Conference two days later.
The two conferences were both well-attended, and the mood was just a little lighter, a little more buoyant, to suggest optimism. Insiders think we may have passed the nadir, and at a point of rejuvenation.
Experts are pointing to several recent PDUFA date successes and FDA approvals, suggesting a favorable regulatory path in some important sectors. Of particular interest is the obesity space, which is soaring after Bleviq and Qsymia became the first drugs approved in 13 years. BioCentury did a great job covering this area — we followed up with a story in this edition outlining what could happen in the coming months.
Now we have our eye on multiple sclerosis: Opexa Therapeutics’ initiation of a Phase IIb trial in SPMS has created a lot of buzz. Opexa is essentially a lone soldier in attacking this debilitating condition, creating a significant market opportunity. Most important in the short-term, Opexa’s Tcelna is not showing any of the risk and safety issues associated with Novantrone.
We are also seeing some creative clinical phase strategies and a flurry of European approvals in cancer, of course successful because the technologies are just so impressive. Don’t miss our piece about metastatic cancer, a space in which multiple therapeutic approaches have performed well in the American public markets. We are following several trials very closely that should report data in Q4.
Enjoy this edition.
Categories: cancer, COMPANIES, Uncategorized
