STAT+: Troubles mount for Cassava Sciences, as patient enrollment lags for Alzheimer’s drug studies
Cassava Sciences conceded Tuesday that only a relative handful of patients with Alzheimer’s have been…
Category: Adam’s Take
STAT+: Aurinia Pharma’s takeout hopes dim with new legal challenge to key drug patent
Takeover speculation has swirled around Aurinia Pharmaceuticals since late 2019 when its lead drug, Lupkyni,…
STAT+: Be careful who you sue: CytoDyn knowingly submitted an incomplete drug application to FDA, new documents show
CytoDyn and its CEO Nader Pourhassan have known the company’s long-delayed HIV drug was in…
STAT+: An FDA rejection derails Omeros, exposing the empty promises of its CEO
It’s remarkable to watch Omeros CEO Greg Demopulos and his executive team dissolve into a…
STAT+: Northwest Bio marks ignominious anniversary of brain tumor study delay with silence
Northwest Biotherapeutics has buried data from its completed brain cancer clinical trial for so long…
STAT+: In new remarks, Cassava Sciences’ CEO shifts defense of embattled treatment for Alzheimer’s
Cassava Sciences CEO Remi Barbier on Monday shifted his defense of the company’s embattled treatment…
STAT+: Alzheimer’s scientists critique Cassava Sciences’ study results — overblown, inappropriate, uninterpretable
Independent researchers are expressing doubts about the purported benefits of an experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s…
STAT+: The failure of a cancer drug study leaves Cel-Sci on the brink of collapse
The failure of Cel-Sci’s immunotherapy treatment called Multikine to prolong the survival of patients with…
STAT+: FDA issues major rebuke to CytoDyn over claims on Covid-19 drug
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday took the extraordinary step of issuing a lengthy…
STAT+: Cel-Sci CEO spoke privately with investors last week, raising doubts about long-delayed cancer drug
Cel-Sci CEO Geert Kersten spoke privately with investors last week as part of a “non-deal…
STAT+: The long wait for Cel-Sci to finally admit its cancer drug doesn’t work
Eventually, Cel-Sci will have to disclose the results of its Phase 3 cancer clinical trial….
STAT+: A ‘conditional’ EUA for a CytoDyn Covid treatment? FDA says no such thing exists
Speaking Monday night to investors on a conference call, CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan said the…
STAT+: CytoDyn’s wild weekend of data-mining study results ends in failure for its Covid treatment
Results from a late-stage clinical trial released late Friday by the drug maker CytoDyn showed…
STAT+: Who will Vertex buy? How much will it spend? Deal questions dominate its earnings call
Who (or what) is Vertex Pharmaceuticals going to buy? The question — asked many different…
STAT+: Kulkarni victorious in best biopharma CEO vote; Leschly tops worst list
The best and worst biopharma CEOs of 2020, selected by STAT+ readers, are Sam Kulkarni…
STAT Plus: Biomarin, Gilead drug rejections don’t signal a change in attitude at the FDA
It’s tempting to interpret the Food and Drug Administration’s surprise rejections of drugs from Gilead…
STAT Plus: Applied Therapeutics’ muted response to a clinical hold speaks volumes
How a company communicates with investors can be just as meaningful as what it communicates….
STAT Plus: CytoDyn is in financial and clinical distress, newly filed annual report shows
An annual report disclosed by CytoDyn on Friday night describes a drug maker in distress….
STAT Plus: CytoDyn CEO claims Covid-19 drug success while describing data suggesting study failure
CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan used a conference call on Thursday evening to claim success with the…
STAT Plus: CytoDyn’s Covid-19 drug troubles escalate: Efficacy data are missing from study
CytoDyn released safety data on its experimental drug for Covid-19 on Tuesday, but efficacy data…
STAT Plus: Moderna’s skyrocketing market value is an indictment of the U.S. Covid-19 response
Buoyed by newly published, early data on its experimental Covid-19 vaccine, Moderna on Wednesday cracked…
STAT Plus: Applied Therapeutics amends investor deck, bolstering accusations made by anonymous critic
One week after the New York City drug developer Applied Therapeutics announced it was working…
STAT Plus: FDA refuses application for HIV drug from CytoDyn, raising more questions about its credibility
The Food and Drug Administration refused to accept an application seeking the approval of a…
STAT Plus: A moment of truth arrives for CytoDyn’s Covid-19 drug. Don’t let spin obscure it
CytoDyn is nearing the completion of a clinical trial investigating the use of leronlimab, its…
STAT Plus: ASCO 2020 takeaways: AstraZeneca does a star turn, KRAS fizzles, and cell therapy shows progress
The annual meeting American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) concluded on Sunday. The closely-followed cancer…
STAT Plus: Moderna carries a big-boy market valuation now, so it shouldn’t act like a biotech penny stock
Some additional thoughts and comments on Moderna, its coronavirus vaccine, the stock’s valuation and Monday…
STAT Plus: With hopes running high for Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the stock’s value requires an almost mythical leap of faith
Moderna is moving at unprecedented speed to develop a vaccine to prevent infection from the…
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STAT Plus: CytoDyn says lead HIV drug was not filed for FDA approval, as previously claimed
CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan is already under fire for the timing of lucrative sales of…
STAT Plus: CytoDyn CEO made $12M from his stock sale, and his explanation raises more questions
CytoDyn chief executive Nader Pourhassan’s lucrative sale of company stock was confirmed in a regulatory…
STAT Plus: Without showing any data, CytoDyn touts treatment for Covid-19 as winner — while its CEO sells stock
While Nader Pourhassan, the chief executive of drug maker CytoDyn, filed his intention to sell…
STAT Plus: Aytu Bioscience capitalizes on coronavirus antibody test demand, but the good times won’t last
A pivot towards reselling Chinese-made coronavirus antibody tests in the U.S. has transformed tiny Aytu…
STAT Plus: Athersys pivots a stem cell therapy to Covid-19, but prior data offer little confidence
Athersys is confident its experimental stem cell therapy has the potential to help patients with the…
STAT Plus: Biotech in the time of coronavirus: Pondering the future of ‘JPM Week’
I logged into a Zoom meeting wearing a fuzzy robe. Greetings and welcome to another…
STAT Plus: Biotech in the time of the coronavirus: Stocks are down, but optimistic investors see opportunities ahead
Yesterday, I found out that I’m an “essential person” under Massachusetts’ new stay-at-home order. Should…
STAT Plus: Biotech in the time of the coronavirus: Disruptions continue, but there’s some good news, too
Back again with another semi-regular column on the Covid-19 pandemic. You can read my first…
STAT Plus: Biotech in the time of the coronavirus: A semi-regular column on the outbreak’s impact on drug makers
This is the first in a series of semi-regular columns on the Covid-19 pandemic. In…
STAT Plus: Biotech, bracing for widespread coronavirus fallout, hopes for the best and prepares for the worst
Biotech: Disrupted. As the number of Covid-19 cases expand globally, every corner of the biotech…
STAT Plus: TG Therapeutics cops to another blood cancer drug trial delay, as excuses wear thin
TG Therapeutics (TGTX) on Tuesday delayed yet again the readout from its most important blood…
STAT Plus: Allakos is running clinical trials in reverse, critics say, raising questions about its digestive disease drug
Allakos (ALLK) is embroiled in a clinical trial controversy with potentially billions of dollars at…
STAT Plus: ‘Pharma doesn’t like fish oil’: Wall Street funds sold Amarin after big win with heart drug
Wall Street fund managers lightened their stock positions in Amarin (AMRN) during the fourth quarter…
STAT Plus: Investor impatience with Gilead reclamation project sparks acquisition chatter
In recent days, there’s been investor chatter about stalled-out Gilead Sciences (GILD) becoming a takeover…
If biotech had a Mount Rushmore, whose heads would you chisel in the granite?
If someone sculpted a Mount Rushmore of biotech CEOs, who’d be on it? The question…
STAT Plus: As Biogen gets squishy on timing for an aducanumab filing, the clock is ticking
There are few things in this world more squishy than Wonder Bread. Exception: Biogen’s answers…
The truth about JPM: Less is more
SAN FRANCISCO — Yet another J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is done. Was it worth it?…
STAT Plus: Biotech 2020 preview: Takeover targets, notable drug launches, and genome editing readouts
Hello, Biotech 2020. True, we’re already six days into the new year, but the first…
STAT Plus: STAT’s guide to the most important, beneficial drugs approved in the past decade
The new year will end in a zero, making this a perfect opportunity to look…
Maraganore victorious in best biopharma CEO tally; Vounatsos tops worst list
Polls are closed and the votes have been counted. STAT readers have crowned the best…
And now, your nominees for worst biopharma CEO of 2019. Let the voting begin!
I feel a touch of shame admitting that I enjoy compiling my annual list of…
Here are the nominees for best biopharma CEO of 2019. Vote for your favorite!
People often ask me how I select the nominees for best biopharma CEO of the…
STAT Plus: The good, the bad, and the really, really ugly behind Sarepta’s drug approval
What does it all mean now that the Food and Drug Administration has issued a…