So Long To KITE; JUNO, CLLS, MBIO, BLCM Are Sympathy Plays; PGNX Catches Eye

(RTTNews) - The following are some of the biotech stocks that made their way onto the Day's Gainers & Losers' list of August 28, 2017.

GAINERS

1. Kite Pharma Inc. (KITE)

Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage developer of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies.

CAR T-cells are a type of immunotherapy in which a patient's T cells are extracted from their blood and modified in a lab to produce receptors on their surface called chimeric antigen receptors, or CARs. These special receptors allow the T cells to recognize and attach to a specific protein, or antigen, on tumor cells.

The engineered T cells are infused back into the patient where they multiply and with guidance from their engineered receptor, recognize and kill cancer cells. (Source: National cancer Institute).

Gained 28% to close Monday's (Aug.28) trading at $178.05.

News: The Company is all set to be acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) for $180.00 per share in cash, equivalent to a total value of approximately $11.9 billion.

The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

2. Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NTLA)

Intellia is a genome editing company, focused on the development of proprietary, potentially curative therapeutics using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Gained 19.24% to close Monday's trading at $20.82.

News: No news

3. Juno Therapeutics Inc. (JUNO)

Gained 18.71% to close Monday's trading at $36.48.

News: Juno's stock rose as a sympathy play on Kite Pharma's acquisition by Gilead. Like Kite Pharma, Juno is also focused on developing CAR T-cell therapies to cure cancer.

4. Immune Design Corp. (IMDZ)

Gained 18.40% to close Monday's trading at $9.65.

News: No news

Pipeline:

The Company has two lead drug candidates CMB305 and G100. CMB305 is being evaluated in phase II trials primarily in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients both as a monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-L1 antibody Tecentriq. G100 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 single arm and a Phase 2 randomized trial in patients with low-grade follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Near-term catalysts:

-- Early data from phase II trial of CMB305 plus Tecentriq are expected to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2017 Congress (ESMO) to be held in September 2017. -- Data from a phase II study comparing G100 and XRT versus G100 and XRT with the systemic administration of Keytruda in patients with low-grade follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma are expected in December of this year. -- Follow-up data from all patients treated with G100 monotherapy in Phase 1 dose escalation portion of the study are also expected in December 2017.

5. Cellectis SA (CLLS)

Gained 17.03% to close Monday's trading at $29.48.

News: Cellectis' stock rose as a sympathy play on Kite Pharma's acquisition by Gilead. Like Kite Pharma, Cellectis is also focused on developing CAR T-cell therapies to cure cancer.

6. Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (ADAP)

Gained 15.16% to close Monday's trading at $6.00.

The Company is focused on developing enhanced T-cell therapies that work with the immune system to improve detection and targeting of cancer cells, resulting in destruction of those cancer cells.

Pipeline:

The advanced drug candidate in the pipeline is NY-ESO TCR therapeutic candidate, under multiple Phase 1/2 clinical trials in patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies including synovial sarcoma, multiple myeloma, melanoma, NSCLC and ovarian cancer. NY-ESO TCR therapeutic candidate in being developed in partnership with GSK.

The Company's wholly-owned product candidates are MAGE-A10 T-cell therapy, under phase I/II studies in lung cancer, bladder, melanoma and head and neck cancers; AFP TCR, under phase I study in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, and MAGE-A4 TCR, under phase I trial in multiple solid tumors.

News: No news

7. Immunomedics Inc. (IMMU)

Gained 14.07% to close Monday's trading at $11.84.

News: No news

To know more about IMMU, visit our Company Spotlight column.

8. Mustang Bio Inc. (MBIO)

Gained 13.90% to close Monday's trading at $12.70.

News: Mustang Bio's stock rose as a sympathy play on Kite Pharma's acquisition by Gilead. Like Kite Pharma, Mustang Bio is also focused on developing CAR T-cell therapies to cure cancer.

Near-term catalysts:

-- Initiate construction on a proprietary CAR T manufacturing facility later this year. -- Read out phase I data from its lead CAR T therapies MB-101 in glioblastoma and MB-102 in acute myeloid leukemia in early 2018.

9. Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BLCM)

Gained 13.77% to close Monday's trading at $9.42.

The Company is developing novel stem cell transplant, TCR and CAR T cell therapies.

News: Bellicum's stock rose as a sympathy play on Kite Pharma's acquisition by Gilead.

Pipeline:

The company's lead product candidate is BPX-501, which is being evaluated in multiple phase 1/2 clinical trials in adults and pediatric patients with leukemias, lymphomas, and genetic blood diseases in the U.S. and Europe.

Near-term catalysts:

-- Enrollment in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of BPX-501 in children with leukemias, lymphomas, or orphan inherited blood disorders, for which HSCT (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation) is curative, dubbed EU BP-004, remains on track for completion by the end of 2017. -- An observational trial in pediatric patients receiving transplants from matched unrelated donors (MUD) without BPX-501 is expected to be initiated in the third quarter of 2017. -- The top-line results from the above two studies are expected in the second half of 2018, with MAA filing planned for 2019.

10. Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PGNX)

Gained 12.12% to close Monday's trading at $6.29.

News: No news

Near-term catalyst:

-- The New Drug Application for AZEDRA for the treatment of rare and difficult-to-treat neuroendocrine tumors, pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma is expected to be submitted to the FDA in August 2017.

LOSERS

1.CareDx Inc (CDNA)

Lost 8.72% to close Monday's trading at $2.72.

News: No news

Recent event:

On August 24, 2017, the Company announced that AlloSure, its noninvasive test that detects active rejection in kidney transplant patients was qualified for Medicare coverage effective October 9th, 2017.

2. Chiasma Inc. (CHMA)

Lost 7.95% to close Monday's trading at $2.03.

News : No news

Chiasma's lead product candidate is Mycapssa. The NDA for Mycapssa capsules for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with acromegaly was turned down by the FDA last April. The company needs to conduct another clinical trial before Mycapssa could be approved.

Near-term catalysts:

-- The Company plans to initiate enrollment of patients into its new Phase 3 clinical trial of Mycapssa, dubbed OPTIMAL, during the second half of this year. -- Release top-line data from the OPTIMAL clinical trial by the end of 2019.

A phase III clinical trial to investigate the non-inferiority of Mycapssa to once-a-month injectable somatostatin analogs, dubbed MPOWERED, is underway. The results of this study are expected to support the filing of a Marketing Authorization Application with the European Medicines Agency.

3. TRACON Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TCON)

Lost 6.82% to close Monday's trading at $2.05.

News: No news

Pipeline:

The Company's most advanced drug candidate is TRC105 for angiosarcoma, which is under phase III testing. TRC105 is also under phase II trials in the indications of renal cancer, liver cancer and Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia. Phase I studies of TRC105 in lung and breast cancers are underway.

The other investigational drugs are: -- TRC102 for Glioblastoma and Mesothelioma under phase II testing -- TRC102 for lung and solid tumors under phase I trials -- DE-122 wet AMD under a phase 1/2 study, dubbed PAVE, in partnership with Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. -- TRC253, in-licensed from Janssen, under phase 1/2 trial in prostate cancer.

Near-term catalysts:

-- Complete DE-122 Phase 1/2 PAVE study in wet AMD in the second half of 2017. -- Initiate dosing in DE-122 Phase 2 AVANTE study in wet AMD in the second half of 2017. -- Top-line data from TRC105 randomized Phase 2 trial in renal cancer in the second half of 2017. -- Complete dose escalation in TRC253 Phase 1/2 trial in prostate cancer in the second half of 2017.