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Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble
- AMY REEVES
- 8/31/2016
Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS) said Wednesday that it’s shuttering its Cell & Gene Therapy unit, however it said it remains committed to its cancer-fighting CAR-T cell program.
The market took this as a negative vote for the program, however, knocking down CAR-T-focused stocks Juno Therapeutics (JUNO), Bluebird Bio (BLUE) and Kite Pharma (KITE).
The website Endpoint News very first reported the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit’s disbanding , telling that its activities will be integrated into the larger Novartis organization, but about one hundred twenty of the four hundred positions there will be eliminated, including unit head Usman Azam. Novartis still plans to file for approval of its lead CAR-T candidate, CTL019, for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) next year.
Kite and Juno are also working on therapies targeting the CD-19 antigen. On the stock market today , Novartis fell 0.7% to 78.77, while Juno was down 6.2% near 29.58 and Kite was off 1.9% to 57.62. Bluebird, which has an earlier-stage CAR-T program, was down 3% to 49.34.
IBD’S TAKE: CAR-T therapy has yet to make it to market, making investing in it a very risky business. To find out how IBD chooses winning stocks, see the CAN Slender Investing System .
“In our view, some investors may view this as a negative datapoint for CAR-T and a suggestion that Novartis is cutting back investment and resources to CAR-T,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee in a research note. “But we think (1) reorganizing and restructuring divisions sounds pretty typical and regular for Big Pharma’s broader bureaucracy vs biotech . (Two) Novartis is essentially a third player in the four-man CD-19 race with Kite in the lead in the big market (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL) and Juno and Novartis both targeting ALL as the lead indication, and Cellectis (CLLS)/Pfizer (PFE) beginning Phase I for allogeneic CD-19 off-the-shelf work.”
It didn’t help matters that late Tuesday, BTIG initiated coverage of Kite Pharma with a neutral rating, noting that the data on CAR-T therapies is still very limited, tho’ some of it has shown spectacular results. Kite’s KTE-019 could be the very first to market next year, wrote analyst Dane Leone, but it’s not yet known how its data will ultimately compare with Novartis’ and Juno’s.
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble, Stock News – Stock Market Analysis
Technology
Visit the IBD Store to get began.
Technology
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble
- AMY REEVES
- 8/31/2016
Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS) said Wednesday that it’s shuttering its Cell & Gene Therapy unit, tho’ it said it remains committed to its cancer-fighting CAR-T cell program.
The market took this as a negative vote for the program, however, knocking down CAR-T-focused stocks Juno Therapeutics (JUNO), Bluebird Bio (BLUE) and Kite Pharma (KITE).
The website Endpoint News very first reported the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit’s disbanding , telling that its activities will be integrated into the larger Novartis organization, but about one hundred twenty of the four hundred positions there will be eliminated, including unit head Usman Azam. Novartis still plans to file for approval of its lead CAR-T candidate, CTL019, for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) next year.
Kite and Juno are also working on therapies targeting the CD-19 antigen. On the stock market today , Novartis fell 0.7% to 78.77, while Juno was down 6.2% near 29.58 and Kite was off 1.9% to 57.62. Bluebird, which has an earlier-stage CAR-T program, was down 3% to 49.34.
IBD’S TAKE: CAR-T therapy has yet to make it to market, making investing in it a very risky business. To find out how IBD chooses winning stocks, see the CAN Slender Investing System .
“In our view, some investors may view this as a negative datapoint for CAR-T and a suggestion that Novartis is cutting back investment and resources to CAR-T,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee in a research note. “But we think (1) reorganizing and restructuring divisions sounds pretty typical and regular for Big Pharma’s broader bureaucracy vs biotech . (Two) Novartis is essentially a third player in the four-man CD-19 race with Kite in the lead in the big market (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL) and Juno and Novartis both targeting ALL as the lead indication, and Cellectis (CLLS)/Pfizer (PFE) embarking Phase I for allogeneic CD-19 off-the-shelf work.”
It didn’t help matters that late Tuesday, BTIG initiated coverage of Kite Pharma with a neutral rating, noting that the data on CAR-T therapies is still very limited, tho’ some of it has shown spectacular results. Kite’s KTE-019 could be the very first to market next year, wrote analyst Dane Leone, but it’s not yet known how its data will ultimately compare with Novartis’ and Juno’s.
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble, Stock News – Stock Market Analysis
Technology
Visit the IBD Store to get embarked.
Technology
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble
- AMY REEVES
- 8/31/2016
Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS) said Wednesday that it’s shuttering its Cell & Gene Therapy unit, however it said it remains committed to its cancer-fighting CAR-T cell program.
The market took this as a negative vote for the program, however, knocking down CAR-T-focused stocks Juno Therapeutics (JUNO), Bluebird Bio (BLUE) and Kite Pharma (KITE).
The website Endpoint News very first reported the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit’s disbanding , telling that its activities will be integrated into the larger Novartis organization, but about one hundred twenty of the four hundred positions there will be eliminated, including unit head Usman Azam. Novartis still plans to file for approval of its lead CAR-T candidate, CTL019, for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) next year.
Kite and Juno are also working on therapies targeting the CD-19 antigen. On the stock market today , Novartis fell 0.7% to 78.77, while Juno was down 6.2% near 29.58 and Kite was off 1.9% to 57.62. Bluebird, which has an earlier-stage CAR-T program, was down 3% to 49.34.
IBD’S TAKE: CAR-T therapy has yet to make it to market, making investing in it a very risky business. To find out how IBD chooses winning stocks, see the CAN Slender Investing System .
“In our view, some investors may view this as a negative datapoint for CAR-T and a suggestion that Novartis is cutting back investment and resources to CAR-T,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee in a research note. “But we think (1) reorganizing and restructuring divisions sounds pretty typical and regular for Big Pharma’s broader bureaucracy vs biotech . (Two) Novartis is essentially a third player in the four-man CD-19 race with Kite in the lead in the big market (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL) and Juno and Novartis both targeting ALL as the lead indication, and Cellectis (CLLS)/Pfizer (PFE) kicking off Phase I for allogeneic CD-19 off-the-shelf work.”
It didn’t help matters that late Tuesday, BTIG initiated coverage of Kite Pharma with a neutral rating, noting that the data on CAR-T therapies is still very limited, tho’ some of it has shown spectacular results. Kite’s KTE-019 could be the very first to market next year, wrote analyst Dane Leone, but it’s not yet known how its data will ultimately compare with Novartis’ and Juno’s.
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble, Stock News – Stock Market Analysis
Technology
Visit the IBD Store to get began.
Technology
Novartis Closing Cell Therapy Unit; CAR-T Stocks Tumble
- AMY REEVES
- 8/31/2016
Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS) said Wednesday that it’s shuttering its Cell & Gene Therapy unit, however it said it remains committed to its cancer-fighting CAR-T cell program.
The market took this as a negative vote for the program, however, knocking down CAR-T-focused stocks Juno Therapeutics (JUNO), Bluebird Bio (BLUE) and Kite Pharma (KITE).
The website Endpoint News very first reported the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit’s disbanding , telling that its activities will be integrated into the larger Novartis organization, but about one hundred twenty of the four hundred positions there will be eliminated, including unit head Usman Azam. Novartis still plans to file for approval of its lead CAR-T candidate, CTL019, for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) next year.
Kite and Juno are also working on therapies targeting the CD-19 antigen. On the stock market today , Novartis fell 0.7% to 78.77, while Juno was down 6.2% near 29.58 and Kite was off 1.9% to 57.62. Bluebird, which has an earlier-stage CAR-T program, was down 3% to 49.34.
IBD’S TAKE: CAR-T therapy has yet to make it to market, making investing in it a very risky business. To find out how IBD chooses winning stocks, see the CAN Slender Investing System .
“In our view, some investors may view this as a negative datapoint for CAR-T and a suggestion that Novartis is cutting back investment and resources to CAR-T,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee in a research note. “But we think (1) reorganizing and restructuring divisions sounds pretty typical and regular for Big Pharma’s broader bureaucracy vs biotech . (Two) Novartis is essentially a third player in the four-man CD-19 race with Kite in the lead in the big market (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL) and Juno and Novartis both targeting ALL as the lead indication, and Cellectis (CLLS)/Pfizer (PFE) kicking off Phase I for allogeneic CD-19 off-the-shelf work.”
It didn’t help matters that late Tuesday, BTIG initiated coverage of Kite Pharma with a neutral rating, noting that the data on CAR-T therapies is still very limited, however some of it has shown spectacular results. Kite’s KTE-019 could be the very first to market next year, wrote analyst Dane Leone, but it’s not yet known how its data will ultimately compare with Novartis’ and Juno’s.
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