6 Top Gainers In Healthcare Sector (BIOC, ALRN, VCNX...)

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

1. Biocept Inc. (BIOC)

Biocept is a commercial provider of liquid biopsy tests designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to improve the outcomes of cancer patients.

Gained 40.12% to close Wednesday's (Jan.16) trading at $2.34.

News: No news

Near-term Catalyst:

The Company is slated to report Q4, 2018, financial results in the last week of March. The net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $6.0 million or $2.42 per share on revenue of $762,000.

2. Aileron Therapeutics Inc. (ALRN)

Gained 28.95% to close Wednesday's trading at $1.47.

News: The Company has commenced enrollment in a phase IIa expansion cohort for ALRN-6924 in combination with Pfizer's Ibrance in cancer patients with MDM2-amplified solid tumors.

The trial is expected to enroll up to 25 MDM2-amplified cancer patients with advanced solid tumors that test positive for the presence of wild-type p53.

3. Entera Bio Ltd. (ENTX)

Gained 28.10% to close Wednesday's trading at $3.92.

News: No news

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- A phase II clinical trial of Oral PTH 1-34 for hypoparathyroidism is underway. The Company reported positive results from Part I of this study last November. -- A phase II study of oral parathyroid hormone drug, EB612, in hypoparathyroidism patients is underway.

Recent event:

On December 11, 2018, Entera Bio entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Amgen.

Under this agreement, Amgen has the option to advance up to three large molecule programs using Entera's oral delivery technology. Entera is eligible to receive up to $270 million in clinical and commercial milestone payments.

4. Titan Medical Inc. (TMDI)

Titan Medical is a medical device company focused on the design and development of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery.

Gained 23.89% to close Wednesday's trading at $2.80.

News: No news

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Complete the required human confirmatory studies for its SPORT Surgical System under an Investigational Device Exemption during the second half of 2019.

The SPORT Surgical System is a single-port robotic surgical system, being developed for one or more of gynecologic, urologic, colorectal or general abdominal procedures.

-- File for the CE mark for SPORT Surgical System by year-end 2019.

5. Vaccinex Inc. (VCNX)

Vaccinex is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted biotherapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disorders.

Gained 21.16% to close Wednesday's trading at $5.33.

News: The Company announced that it has completed subject enrollment for its SIGNAL trial.

SIGNAL is a phase II study of VX15/2503 in subjects with early manifest and late prodromal Huntington's disease.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalyst:

-- Apart from the SIGNAL trial, another trial that is ongoing is the CLASSICAL - Lung study.

CLASSICAL-Lung is a phase Ib/II combination study with Anti-Semaphorin 4D Antibody, VX15/2503, and Avelumab in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Data from this trial is expected in 2H 2019.

-- Data from the SIGNAL trial is anticipated in 2H 2020.

6. Cerecor Inc. (CERC)

Gained 15.74% to close Wednesday's trading at $5.00.

News: The FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designations to Cerecor's three substrate replacement therapies for Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation.

The 3 compounds that secured Orphan Drug Designation are CERC-801, D-galactose for the treatment of Phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1) Deficiency; CERC-802, D-mannose for the treatment of Mannose Phosphate Isomerase (MPI) Deficiency; and CERC-803, L-fucose for the treatment of Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation IIc (CDG-IIc). All three indications are ultra-rare disorders.

Cerecor has completed pre-IND meetings with the FDA and seeks to leverage the 505(b)(2) pathway to expedite approval of each product.