These Are The 5 Stocks To Watch Ahead Of Major Meeting
On Sunday, March 30, the American College of Cardiology
holds its annual meeting in Chicago. The meeting is a major forum
for cardiologists from around the world to present data on new drugs to treat
all aspects of cardiovascular disease. In regards to investors in biotech, it is
truly the first influential meeting of the year. The meeting lasts until
Wednesday, April 30, and should draw some serious investor attention to
presenting companies involved in developing drugs to treat cardiovascular
disease.Â
As we all know, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of people today
and the number one growing market for potential new drug treatments. Any new
drug with the potential to improve upon the morbidity or mortality of this
disease will greatly impact a company’s financial future.Â
Although not as high profile as the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
meeting in May, companies presenting significant data at this meeting can be the
subjects of significant daily volatility once their presentations go public. In
addition, sometimes a single company’s presentation, if significant enough, can
be a catalyst for an entire sector of biotech companies. Due to the news
generated from this meeting, I expect next week to be a very active one for
biotech.Â
Who are some of the companies presenting at next week’s Cardiology meeting?
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CV Therapeutics
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has a big presence at the upcoming American College of Cardiology meeting,
presenting six abstracts to gathering doctors. The company will present trial
data from its new drugs Renexa
(Ranolazine) and CVT-3146. CV
Therapeutics recently was notified that its New Drug Application (NDA) for
Renexa was accepted by the FDA for review. Normally, the FDA will take up to a
year to make a decision on an accepted NDA. I expect the FDA to make a
decision on this drug by the end of the year. If it does get approved, and I
anticipate it will, the drug has the potential to be a blockbuster for the
company with potential sales of over $1 billion. Renexa is a new class of drug
aimed at patients with chronic angina, a disease that affects over six million
people. The drug partially inhibits fatty acid oxidation (pFOX), an underlying
factor in the development of coronary artery disease. The company is also
investigating other potential disease markets for the drug, such as diabetes
and congestive heart failure.ÂIn addition to highlighting its main drug Renexa, CVTX will also discuss data
on its novel selective A2A Adenosine Receptor Agonist CVT-3146. This new agent
is being developed for use during diagnostic cardiac perfusion imaging
studies. Cardiac perfusion imaging studies are often ordered by cardiologists
in the workup of patients with coronary artery disease to evaluate for
potential blockages. According to the company, CVT-3146 has the potential to
work better than current imaging stress agents used during cardiac imaging
studies.Besides the two new drugs mentioned, CVTX also has within its developing
pipeline other drugs directed at treating big market diseases. The company is
nurturing a new drug (Adentri) with Biogen to treat congestive heart failure,
a drug currently in phase II clinical trials. It also has another new drug (Tecadenoson)
in phase II/III clinical trials to reduce the accelerated heart rate observed
in atrial arrhythmias. Atrial arrhythmias are common in the elderly and often
require several different medications to control. Both these new drugs have
the potential to be big revenue producers for the company.  ÂOverall, I expect CV Therapeutics to have a major presence at next week’s
cardiologist meeting, a presence that could translate into some upside
volatility. In addition, I like the company’s pipeline position for the
long-term.  ÂÂ
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Scios Corporation
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will also be highlighted at the upcoming meeting of cardiologists by
showcasing additional data on its current marketed drug (Natrecor) to treat
congestive heart failure. Since this drug was approved for the treatment of
congestive heart failure, it has been generating significant use by
cardiologists. The company is expected to present several abstracts
highlighting the significant impact of their new drug on this difficult to
treat disease.Â
Scios also is developing a new drug directed at treating rheumatoid arthritis,
another major disease market. The drug is a new class of compound (p38 MAP
Kinase Inhibitor) and is currently in phase II clinical trials. The company is
expected to release virgin data on this drug sometime within the next month. Scios
was recently bought out by Johnson & Johnson.Â
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Medicure (TSX: MPH),
a small Canadian company listed on the Toronto
Exchange may also get some attention at next week’s meeting. The company’s
lead new drug MC-1 recently completed phase II clinical trials. The study
called MEND-1 was carried out under the guidance of the world-renowned Duke
University Clinical Research Institute. The phase II trial was carried out to
evaluate the cardioprotective effects of MC-1 against ischemic reperfusion
injury in patients undergoing balloon angioplasty of diseased coronary
vessels.ÂThe preliminary results of the trial were very positive, with both primary and
secondary endpoints met. In addition, there were no serious safety concerns
about the drug. Medicure’s new class of compound appears to effectively reduce
ischemic damage to heart muscle after angioplasty as measured by several
criteria in the study. This is an important observation and can have
significant implications for the company’s future if the drug’s efficacy holds
up in phase III trials.ÂMedicure expects to present the full trial data at next week’s meeting and I
expect the company to be the focus of some attention for several
reasons. First of all, the trial was conducted by some of the most well
respected cardiologists at Duke in the field of ischemic heart disease. This
fact alone will carry weight in the eyes of many cardiologists and
investors. In addition, the preliminary phase II data is impressive enough
that many cardiologists will take notice of the potential use of this new drug
during angioplasty procedures. Finally, MC-1 is aimed at a large, growing
disease market that has the potential to generate a substantial amount of
revenue for the company if the drug makes it to market.Medicure’s stock price is currently selling under a $1/share. The fact that
preliminary positive phase II data has been made public may be already
factored into the price of the stock. Despite this potential, I believe there
will be more room for movement once the full data is presented at the
meeting. On a final note, the company just announced that it will make a
presentation at the March 25 Wall Street Transcript Conference in New York
City prior to its presentation at the American College of Cardiology
Conference. ÂÂ
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In
addition to these three companies, The
Medicines Company
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GenVec
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making presentations on their unique approaches to the treatment of
cardiovascular disease. GenVec’s approach is interesting because it involves
gene therapy to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels around blockages in
the main coronary arteries.
The bottom line is next week’s meeting of cardiologists should
focus some positive attention on the biotech sector, particularly those
companies involved in developing novel treatments for patients with
cardiovascular disease.Â
Good Luck,
Paul Ruggieri, MD, FACS