acceleron pharma
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acceleron pharma announces departure of jasbir seehra, ph. d. chief scientific officer
note: compare acceleron pharma stock price history with the index and industry peers .
acceleron pharma announces departure of jasbir seehra, ph. d. chief scientific officer | fiercebiotech
acceleron pharma appoints glenn batchelder as ceo and adds richard f. pops to board of directors
acceleron pharma inc. is a biopharmaceutical company which focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of protein therapeutics for cancer and rare diseases. acceleron pharma inc. is based in cambridge, massachusetts .
historical market capitalization for acceleron pharma (xlrn) over the last 10 years. the current market cap for acceleron pharma (xlrn) as of march 31, 2018 is $ 2. 14b .
acceleron pharma appoints glenn batchelder as ceo and adds richard f. pops to board of directors | business wire
acceleron pharma shares rocketed early friday after it and celgene reported strong results for a partnered anemia treatment called luspatercept .
current and historical revenue for acceleron pharma (xlrn) from 2012 to 2018. the sum of all revenue fields included for a company' s operating activities. the current revenue for acceleron pharma as of march 31, 2018 is .
current and historical gross, operating and net profit margins for acceleron pharma (xlrn) over the last 10 years. the current net profit margin for acceleron pharma (xlrn) as of march 31, 2018 is - 839. 98% .
acceleron pharma inc. has struck a pair of deals with pharmaceutical firm celgene corp. that could bring nearly $ 1. 9 billion in payments to acceleron, the biotech reports .
we provide acceleron pharma share price history along with pe ratio and ps ratio for doing acceleron pharma fundamental analysis. the price and volume changes on a daily basis is provided in the acceleron pharma stock price history. a large fluctuation in price and volume indicates a highly volatile stock. xlrn stock saw an opening price of $ 46. 46, and a closing price of $ 46. 7 on jul 06, 2018. looking at acceleron pharma stock history data, the p / s ratio was at a low of 31. 07 on feb 08, 2017 .
acceleron pharma; celgene corporation; indiana university; north shore - long island jewish health system; university of texas m. d. anderson cancer center
acceleron pharma stock price history comprises of 10 years of historical data, or the data since the inception of the company. historical stock prices are provided with the open, high, low, close, volume, and acceleron pharma p / e ratio data for the stock. the acceleron pharma stock price history chart shows that the stock price was at a high of $ 56. 7 on jan 22, 2014 in the preceding 5 years .
new york, ny / accesswire / july 2, 2018 / acceleron pharma and vertex pharmaceuticals both saw big gains on friday on separate positive catalysts last week. acceleron and celgene reported strong results ...
vale co - founded two biotech companies — neurocrine biosciences and acceleron pharma — that have gone on to develop the medical and therapeutic potential of his discoveries .
acceleron pharma is using belgian blue bull genetics to make a drug to shift human muscles into overdrive to treat muscle - sapping diseases. (yann arthus - bertrand / corbis )
contact: acceleron pharma, inc. steven ertel, 617 - 649 - 9234 vice president, corporate development or suda communications llc paul kidwell (media), 617 - 296 - 3854
acceleron appoints robert k. zeldin, m. d. , chief medical officer
acceleron pharma inc (nasdaq: xlrn), a clinical - stage biopharmaceutical focused on the treatment of serious and rare diseases, saw its stock soar after reporting encouraging phase 3 data. but investors ...
acceleron pharma inc. , a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced that senior management will participate in two upcoming healthcare investor conferences in may .
celgene corporation (celg) and acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn) announces top - line results from a phase iii, multi - center study (medalist), where its pipeline candidate luspatercept met both the primary and secondary endpoints .
acceleron pharma inc. is developing protein therapeutics that target the transforming growth factor beta superfamily to treat diseases ranging from musculoskeletal and metabolic disorders to cancer. last month, acceleron began phase i testing of its lead candidate, ace - 011, a first - in - class activin receptor iia antagonist to treat bone loss disorders .
acceleron pharma inc. , a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the first quarter ended march 31, 2018 .
) - - june 14, 2004 - - acceleron pharma announced today the appointment of glenn batchelder as president and ceo and a member of the board of directors. batchelder has been a senior executive at millennium pharmaceuticals for the past five years. acceleron also announced that biopharmaceutical veteran richard pops, ceo of alkermes, has joined the company' s board of directors .
cambridge, mass. - - (business wire) - - nov 19, 2010 - acceleron pharma, inc. , a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced that jasbir seehra, ph. d. , co - founder and chief scientific officer of acceleron has decided to leave acceleron to pursue other interests, although he will maintain a consulting relationship with the company .
acceleron pharma inc. , a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced plans to deliver three presentations on luspatercept at the 23rd congress of the european hematology association in stockholm, sweden on june 14 - 17, 2018 .
i look forward to working with the team at acceleron pharma ,
said pops .
the company has great potential to develop important drugs that will make a significant difference in patients' lives. the founders have brought together a world - class science team and an interesting portfolio of assets .
acceleron pharma ($ xlrn) is in phase iii testing for its lead candidate that’s partnered with celgene ($ celg). now, it’s brought in a top commercial executive from bayer ($ bay), habib dable, to lead the company as it aims to plan for a marketed product .
our mission is to discover and develop breakthrough drugs that will meet the needs of patients. each member of the acceleron team plays a meaningful role in making this happen. we value our employees and work hard to maintain a unique culture, team and collaborative approach that will contribute to our dynamic and scientifically rigorous environment. we are seeking talented and passionate people who are driven by making a difference in the lives of others. the people at acceleron have been and will continue to be the key to our success. acceleron pharma is an equal opportunity employer .
mr. dable joined acceleron in december 2016 as the company’s president and chief executive officer and member of its board of directors .
next, acceleron stands to receive a $ 25 million milestone from celgene upon fda or ema acceptance of a bla for luspatercept .
there isn' t any
stuff
available yet, and knopf' s company, acceleron pharma inc. isn' t promising a bigger cow. but by mimicking the curious genetics of the breed, it' s hoping to make a drug that shifts human muscles into the same kind of overdrive. if it works, acceleron' s drug could repair the damage done by als, muscular dystrophy, and cancer - - diseases that can kill people by dramatically weakening them .
with two phase 3 trials underway and a strong proprietary pipeline, acceleron is on the cusp of a key inflection point, and is adding critical commercial competencies to its core strength of research and development ,
said acceleron board chairman dr. francois nader in a statement .
habib is the right person to take acceleron forward into this next stage of growth as a company …. he is a strategic thinker with excellent leadership and communications skills that will help acceleron deliver on our vision of becoming a leading biopharmaceutical company .
acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of robert k. zeldin, m. d. , as chief medical officer (cmo). dr. zeldin brings to acceleron more than two decades of clinical, regulatory and industry experience, most recently serving as cmo of belgium - based ablynx nv. “robert has built an impressive career, holding a variety of leadership positions across clinical development, regulatory, and medical affairs functions, ” said habib dable, chief executive officer of acceleron .
acceleron' s executives believe it is the only company looking into this approach to fixing damaged bones. but in the muscle arena, acceleron is facing significant competition. two giants of biotechnology are also developing myostatin inhibitors: the west coast powerhouse amgen inc. and wyeth .
the two life sciences firms have agreed to jointly develop and market acceleron' s lead bone - forming protein, called ace - 011, now in phase 1 clinical trials. and celgene has optioned three of acceleron' s discovery - stage programs in a separate agreement .
acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced updated results from the ongoing phase 2 trials of luspatercept in patients with beta - thalassemia during an oral presentation at the 23rd congress of the european hematology association (eha) in stockholm, sweden. luspatercept is being developed as part of a global collaboration between acceleron and celgene. “these results reinforce our enthusiasm for luspatercept’s potential as a safe, efficacious therapy for beta - thalassemia patients over the long term, ” said habib dable, president and chief executive officer of acceleron .
any legitimate treatment, however, is years away. when and if it appears, acceleron knows there will be a waiting black market .
our company acceleron is dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative, life - changing medicines for patients with a wide range ...
london, uk / accesswire / may 24, 2018 / if you want access to our free research report on acceleron pharma inc. (nasdaq: xlrn), all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link urltoken as the company' s latest news hit the wire. on may 22, 2018, the company announced that it has commenced the pulsar phase - 2 trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah), which is a chronic and life - changing disease that can lead to heart failure. urltoken is currently working on the research report for aytu bioscience, inc. (nasdaq: aytu), which also belongs to the healthcare sector as the company acceleron pharma .
related articles: celgene goes global with $ 2. 9b pharmion buyout. report revlimid fuels celgene sales rocket. report the race is on for muscle - enhancing therapies. report acceleron takes a lesson from the giant belgian blue. report acceleron garners $ 30m in venture capital. report
mr. james joined acceleron in 2015. he is vice president of investor relations and corporate communications and a member of the executive management committee .
acceleron' s has numerous drugs in development. in this interview, matthew sherman, md, chief medical officer at acceleron provides an overview of those products (sotatercept, dalantercept, and ace - 083) in addition to their lead product luspatercept discussed previously at urltoken for more information, visit urltoken
cambridge, ma - based acceleron pharma is broadening its anemia research partnership with celgene (nasdaq: celg), the summit, nj - based biotech giant, according to a press release. the companies, which have been collaborating since 2008, have formed a new joint development and commercialization deal for ace - 536, a compound that treats anemia. celgene will make an upfront payment of $ 25 million to to acceleron, which will also be eligible to receive up to $ 217 million in milestone payments and double - digit royalties should the product make it to market .
in the deal related to ace - 011, celgene has agreed to pay an initial fee of $ 50 million to acceleron and to make a $ 5 million equity investment in the privately held biotech based in cambridge. both companies would share costs to develop acceleron' s bone - forming agents, and acceleron is eligible for $ 510 million in milestone payments as well as royalties on potential sales of the proteins. celgene, based in summit, n. j. , would also buy at least $ 7 million in acceleron common stock if the biotech has an initial public offering. the deal is subject to standard closing conditions .
today, celgene (celg) and acceleron therapeutics (xlrn) stocks are trending higher on the news of their phase 3 clinical trial for luspatercept meeting its goal. acceleron said that the drug reported a significant reduction in the need for blood transfusions in patients with mds (myelodysplastic syndrome). celg and xlrn stocks rose ~ 4% and 42% , respectively .
acceleron said it expects to begin a phase 2 clinical trial of ace - 011 by mid - 2008 in patients who have suffered bone loss due to a blood cancer called multiple myeloma .
the company won’t be responsible for commercialization of this candidate, though. celgene has worldwide rights to luspatercept with acceleron receiving a low - to mid - 20% royalty on net sales. celgene is also responsible for conducting phase iii luspatercept clinical studies; for earlier r & d funding, celgene had paid acceleron a total of $ 81. 6 million through june 30 .
acceleron is very unique place. all team members are willing to give extra to get the job done as appropriate in reaching our company goals. i truly feel great about the way we contribute to our patients and our community. i love the fact that i always have open accessibility to upper management, including vps. , ceo, cfo, cmo, cso etc. . they have always welcomed questions, advice i was looking for, personally and professionally. they are very honest and ethical in its business practices! acceleron is growing company and with it comes great opportunity for professional development and growth! i love working for acceleron because they care about all of us! acceleron has helped me achieve my vision goal of becoming a leader by provide me with great resources and mentors. everyone here is willing to help and share knowledge which allows you to grow as a person. acceleron has become my second family and i truly would not want to be anywhere else !
biopharma is a fast - growing world where big ideas come along every day. our subscribers rely on fiercebiotech as their must - read source for the latest news, analysis and data in the world of biotech and pharma r & d. to read on the go, sign up today to get biotech news and updates delivered right to your inbox !
acceleron’s lead candidate is luspatercept, a tgf - β family ligand trap that promotes late - stage erythropoiesis; it’s in phase iii testing in lower - risk myelodysplastic syndrome (mds) and in beta - thalassemia .
acceleron holds full rights to phase ii dalantercept, which is being tested in renal cell carcinoma, and phase i ace - 083 to treat focal muscle disorders; it’s slated to move into phase ii testing during this half .
the clinical trials listed below are acceleron or partner - sponsored trials that are actively recruiting patients. each trial in the list contains a link to clinicaltrials. gov, where you will find a full description and contact information .
due to the volume of calls and inquiries, it is not possible for us to reach back out to everyone directly. if you' re interested in partnering with acceleron, please send the following information to recruitment @ urltoken :
acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced the initiation of the pulsar phase 2 trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah), a chronic and life - changing disease that can lead to heart failure. “there is a real need for new treatment options that have the potential to improve survival for pah patients, ” said david badesch, m. d. , the director of the pulmonary hypertension program at the university of colorado and chair of the pulsar trial steering committee .
he led it through a 2013 ipo to a current valuation of about $ 1. 5 billion. knopf came to acceleron from wyeth, where he had been the cambridge, ma, site head and vp of metabolic and respiratory disease .
alongside our partner celgene—a leader in hematology—we are advancing multiple phase 2 and phase 3 trials of luspatercept in five target indications across myelodysplastic syndromes, beta - thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. acceleron is also advancing a neuromuscular franchise with two distinct “myostatin + ” agents, ace - 083 and ace - 2494. we recently initiated a phase 2 trial of sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah). acceleron has ongoing preclinical research efforts targeting additional indications in these three disease areas in which there is high unmet medical need .
celgene â has agreed to option three development programs at acceleron and collaborate on the development of its lead bone formation protein in two deals that could be worth upwards of $ 1. 9 billion. celgene is paying acceleron $ 50 million up front and a $ 5 million equity payment and up to $ 510 million in milestones for ace - 011 - - which is in an early - stage trial. on top of that, celgene will take a minimum $ 7 million equity stake in acceleron if it goes public. and there' s an additional $ 1. 3 billion in payments for the options on discovery stage programs targeting cancer and cancer - related bone loss. a mid - stage trial of ace - 011 is expected to get underway later this year .
acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of tgf - beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, today announced plans to deliver oral and poster presentations on ace - 083 from the ongoing phase 2 trial in patients with charcot - marie - tooth (cmt) disease at the peripheral nerve society (pns) annual meeting held in baltimore, maryland, july 22 - 25, 2018. part 1 is an open - label, dose - escalation study, with ace - 083 administered by injection into the ta muscle once every 3 weeks in up to 18 patients to evaluate safety and increases in muscle volume over a 3 - month treatment period .
celgene corporation (celg) and acceleron pharma inc. (xlrn) today announced results from a phase iii, randomized, double - blind, multi - center clinical study (medalist). luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell (rbc) transfusion independence of at least 8 consecutive weeks during the first 24 weeks compared to placebo. medalist evaluated the efficacy and safety of luspatercept versus placebo in patients with ipss - r very low, low or intermediate risk myelodysplastic syndromes (mds) with chronic anemia and refractory to, intolerant of, or ineligible for treatment with an erythropoietin - stimulating agent (esa), ring sideroblast - positive and require frequent rbc transfusions .
this collaboration is an excellent strategic fit for acceleron and the ace - 011 program. celgene is one of the most successful biotech companies in the world and is the leader in the field of blood cancers, including multiple myeloma, an indication where ace - 011 has great potential ,
said john knopf, ph. d. , ceo of acceleron. knopf signaled an approaching deal â to fiercebiotech last fall, saying it expected to get a collaboration agreement inked in the first quarter. the biotech company delivered right on schedule .
ms. sacco joined acceleron in 2012, bringing more than 10 years of industry experience in commercial and business development roles. as vice president of market development, she is responsible for leading commercial strategy for acceleron’s pipeline of products. most recently, ms. sacco was responsible for leading business development and commercial strategy for the renal business of sanofi (formerly genzyme). prior to that, she worked in corporate development at pfizer. earlier in her career, ms. sacco worked in investment management at morgan stanley investment management and alliancebernstein .
acceleron could also receive up to $ 1. 3 billion in payments from celgene in connection with the development of the three discovery - stage programs focused on cancer and cancer - related bone loss. the biotech would also receive royalties from celgene on potential sales of the drugs .
acceleron, meanwhile, is brewing its experimental drug in its cambridgeport headquarters, a red liquid sloshing back and forth in a first - floor bioreactor. this year the company plans to ask the fda for permission to test the drug in humans, with tests possibly beginning in 2008 .
with the benefit of jas' scientific leadership, acceleron has rapidly developed a rich pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates, including three molecules in clinical development and several more at late preclinical stages ,
said john knopf, ph. d. , co - founder and chief executive officer of acceleron .
he also showed his passion for patient care by championing the development of therapies for the treatment of duchenne muscular dystrophy. jas is a skilled corporate executive with tremendous entrepreneurial spirit and i wish him all the best as he seeks to repeat his successes at a new venture .
since its founding in 2003, the privately held acceleron has won $ 56 million in blue - chip venture - capital backing with the bold proposition that it can discover new ways to regulate the body' s tissues and systems. its first potential drug, an injection to boost bone growth, is already in human testing. the goal is to help repair the bones of people with cancer, and perhaps someday people with osteoporosis as well. acceleron expects to report results of a first small human test in september, and start a larger clinical trial by the end of the year .
at acceleron, we are dedicated to bringing innovative, life - changing therapies to patients with a wide range of serious and rare diseases. our scientific leadership and broad platform have enabled us to produce a rich pipeline of important new medicines for rare blood disorders, neuromuscular, and pulmonary diseases .
acceleron' s bone drug works in a similar way. drugs already exist that promote the growth of new bone, but they have shortcomings: some can be delivered only directly to a particular bone, and another can' t be used in the cancer patients who could benefit from it. acceleron' s approach is to remove the body' s
off
switch for bone growth by blocking a substance that impedes new bone formation. in some cancer patients, bones can become almost porous, breaking easily, and causing health risks that last even after the cancer has gone into remission .
acceleron is a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs for important unmet medical needs through proprietary approaches that exploit the therapeutic potential of a large family of growth and differentiation factors. drug candidates will include both novel agonists and antagonists. the company was founded in 2003 and builds upon important ongoing research in the laboratories of its academic founders and consultants .
founded in 2003, acceleron reports it employs 90 workers and has raised a total of $ 86 million in three rounds of venture capital financing. in addition to its treatments for bone loss, the biotech is developing preclinical proteins intended to increase muscle mass, control the growth of blood vessels, and block the accumulation of fat .
incoming acceleron head dable was most recently the president for pharmaceuticals at bayer in the u. s. in that role, he managed several new product launches across a number of therapeutic areas. he’s been with bayer for more than 20 years and prior to that spot was the global head of specialty medicine for bayer healthcare pharmaceuticals .
ms. sullivan joined acceleron in 2004 and has had varying responsibilities from facilities and it to operations and human resources. as vice president of human resources, ms. sullivan is responsible for developing and executing hr strategies, as well as talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, performance management, employee relations, and training and development. ms. sullivan has over 25 years of experience in startup as well as public companies. throughout her career, she worked for several high - technology companies including cullinet software, lotus development corp. , shiva corp. , and wheelhouse corp. her most recent position before joining acceleron was as director of operations at a startup boutique investment bank in boston, ma .
dable will replace acceleron co - founder, president and ceo john knopf as of dec. 1, when the latter is set to retire. knopf helped start the cambridge, ma - based biotech in 2003, which as a private company went on to raise about $ 115 million and snag a 2008 deal with celgene that was further built upon in 2011 .
there' s a surprisingly simple explanation for the cow' s pneumatic bulk. its body lacks a protein that works as an
off
switch for muscle growth. called myostatin, the substance patrols the bodies of normal cows - - and humans - - to keep the muscles in check. by designing a drug to absorb and block myostatin, acceleron is essentially removing the
off
switch for muscle growth .
dr. kumar joined acceleron in march 2004 and is currently senior vice president and chief scientific officer. dr. kumar established and currently leads acceleron discovery research. previously, dr. kumar worked for 12 years at genetics institute and wyeth pharmaceuticals. at genetics institute, dr. kumar was a key member of the small molecule drug discovery group and was responsible for cell biology. following the integration of discovery functions from gi and wyeth pharmaceuticals, dr. kumar served as senior scientist in the biological chemistry group. dr. kumar is the author of several key scientific manuscripts in the area of protein glycosylation and is named as an inventor of several patents. dr. kumar received his bs in chemistry from rohilkhand university, his ms in chemistry from meerut university, his ph. d. from university of new brunswick and he completed his post - doctoral fellowship at albert einstein college of medicine, in bronx, ny .
meanwhile, acceleron is at a turning point. the 75 - person company is without a chief executive - - knopf, the president, is acting as an interim chief - - and considering whether to go public. in the future it would like to apply its technology on other body systems and tissues, including fat and blood vessels. knopf, one of its co founders, is well aware of the almost science - fiction appeal of his company' s research .
prior to joining acceleron, mr. james spent 9 years at trout group / trout capital, a boutique strategic advisory firm servicing the biopharmaceutical industry, in new york, ny. as part of the management team at trout, he counselled biopharmaceutical companies on corporate strategy, investor relations, communications, capital markets, and research and development funding. during his tenure, he advised private and public biotech companies on over $ 2b of financial and strategic transactions. earlier in his career, mr. james served as a capital markets intelligence analyst at thomson financial .
dr. desiderio joined acceleron in april 2007 and is senior vice president, regulatory and quality. dr. desiderio has more than 30 years of experience in research and development of small molecule and protein therapeutics, and has been integrally involved in programs leading to more than 10 currently marketed products. previously, dr. desiderio has held various positions at bristol - myers squibb company, gilead sciences and cubist pharmaceuticals. dr. desiderio received his bs in biology from southampton college liu, and his ms in veterinary medicine and ph. d. in immunology from the college of veterinary medicine, cornell university, ithaca, ny .
mr. kango joined acceleron in february 2018, and is responsible for establishing the company’s north america commercial footprint in preparation for the potential launch of luspatercept in late 2019. he leads the development of north america commercial capabilities and u. s. commercial operations and brings over 25 years of commercial leadership and expertise, in both biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies. throughout his career, he has led multiple global product launches, including kyprolis ® and remicade ®, built commercial teams, and also served in collaboration leadership roles for both the onyx pharmaceuticals - bayer and infinity pharmaceuticals - abbvie partnerships. most recently at abbvie, mr. kango served as the vice president of global commercial development for oncology, prior to which he served as the executive vice president and chief commercial officer at infinity pharmaceuticals. mr. kango also served as vice president, global marketing, and sales operations at onyx pharmaceuticals, an amgen subsidiary. prior to onyx, he held several leadership positions including vice president sales and marketing - oncology at merck & co. , global commercial leader - procrit ® / eprex ® at ortho - biotech, and various sales and marketing positions at schering - plough. mr. kango earned a b. s. in microbiology and an mba from mcneese state university .
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president and ceo glenn batchelder said tgf beta bone growth factors represent
an under - appreciated space in biology that had not been exploited for its therapeutic potential .
indeed, the first thing the company did after setting up shop was to accumulate as much of the available ip covering tgf beta as possible through licensing agreements with an assortment of academic institutions including the ...
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cambridge - - when john knopf walks into a meeting and wants to blow people' s minds, he just pulls out a picture of a cow .
it' s clearly not a normal animal. the massive white bull nearly explodes with muscles, a mr. olympia with hooves. the breed, a belgian blue, is a genetic freak .
the picture has been known to derail business conversations. people want to know what made the beast so big .
everyone talks about it ,
said the longtime biotechnology executive .
sometimes they say,' you' ve got to get me some of this stuff.'
there' s real significant need for these patients ,
said knopf .
clearly patients are dying from lack of musculature .
the muscle drug is further away. so far the company has only tested the drug in lab animals, which - - like the outsize belgian blue cattle - - tend to experience dramatic gains in muscle mass without exercise .
wyeth makes an antibody that specifically binds to myostatin and takes it out of commission. the company started testing the drug on muscular dystrophy patients in 2005 and initially expected results by late last year, but they have not yet been disclosed. a wyeth spokesman this week said the data are still being analyzed. amgen' s drug is also in clinical trials, but the company has revealed little information about it .
although the initial use of the drug is for patients with muscle - wasting diseases, the implications haven' t been lost on a very non medical audience: bodybuilders. a number of bodybuilding websites are tracking the progress of myostatin research, and some companies have introduced unregulated supplements with names like myozap and myostim, which claim to boost muscle growth by blocking myostatin .
we' ll be aware of it, and just do the best we can as a company to monitor this ,
said knopf .
if you' d said to me 10 years ago, what are the chances there' s going to be a therapy that increases muscle mass while people sit on the couch, i' d have said zero ,
said knopf .
but these things are coming .
enclose phrases in quotes. use a + to require a term in results and - to exclude terms. example: + water - europe
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how long will the investor exuberance driving public offerings of biotech companies last? brady huggett investigates .
biotech ipos on us exchanges have been something to watch. image: ridge carpenter
that recent enthusiasm for biotech companies' initial public offerings (ipos) is a thing of wonder. even gene therapy companies like bluebird bio of cambridge, massachusetts, have blazed onto the public exchanges. the company twice increased the anticipated amount of the offering before eventually pricing in june at $ 17 per share, above its forecast range, and raising more than $ 116 million. the underwriters picked up an expanded overallotment option— additional shares offered when demand is high—as the stock surged on the open market .
bluebird is just one of many biotech ipos that have gone supernova in 2013 (table 1). biotech ipos on nasdaq and nyse this year have raised, on average, $ 86 million and collectively returned 62% over their ipo pricings at the end of the third quarter. saying that the public market is receptive to early - stage biotechs is an understatement .
biotech' s climb is one part of the overall robust public markets this year. the s & p 500 opened the year at 1, 426. 19, and by the end of the third quarter had grown to 1, 681. 55— a 17. 9% jump. but it is the biotech space that has astonished: the nasdaq biotech index began the year at 1, 460. 20; at the end of the third quarter it closed at 2, 188. 92, a 50% leap over nine months. it has so far held onto these gains .
from among the 2013 life sciences ipos, we selected those that are innovative and r & d - driven. we found subtle differences among firms that priced below, within or above their expected range (supplementary table 1), but the group in general has outperformed .
biotech' s current success is the result of many factors, but one element is serving as a backdrop: investor interest tends to be cyclical, and right now it appears to be biotech' s turn. “it' s almost mathematics, ” says francesco de rubertis, partner at index ventures of geneva. “many people basically predicted this a year ago. board directors have been pushing companies to get ready for ipos. ”
de rubertis points to the pattern of investment flowing from internet and information technology (it) to healthcare. in general, a peak for values in the it space is followed some 6 to 12 months later by a peak in healthcare. a key moment was the facebook ipo in 2012, he says, when the company priced shares at $ 38—the top of its suggested range—and raised $ 18. 4 billion, for a total valuation of $ 104 billion, the largest ever for an american company going public. a lot of wealth was created in the it space for investors, and that new money needed to be put to work. it is moving down the line to biotech stocks, he says .
indeed, biotech' windows' have routinely opened and closed in the past (fig. 1), though how long the sash is up and what brings it down varies. before the current boom in biotech ipos, one train of thought was that windows would become a thing of the past; as investors became more seasoned, public offerings would be evaluated on the basis of a biotech business' fundamentals. that does not seem to be the case .
the cyclical nature of investing is observable in the biotech windows almost from the inception of the industry. * as of september 30, 2013 .
in the current period, adding fuel to the cyclical interest is a pent - up demand for good biotech stories. there have been just 65 innovative biotech ipos in total for 2008–2012, compared to 101 ipos in a single year during the 2000 biotech window. even in tough times, an appetite remains among specialist investors .
this bottled demand is dovetailing with better performance from some of the mature biotech firms. consider regeneron, of tarrytown, new york. at the beginning of 2011, the company' s stock sat just below $ 33. since then, its colorectal cancer drug, zaltrap (ziv - aflibercept), has been approved; ilaris (canakinumab) was cleared for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; and eylea (aflibercept) was approved for both wet age - related macular degeneration and macular edema from retinal vein occlusion. the company' s stock closed above $ 312 at the end of the third quarter .
another example is alexion of cheshire, connecticut, which from 2011 through the third quarter of 2013, had stock growth of 185% , based on the potential of its blockbuster drug soliris (eculizumab). investors look for this sort of' hockey stick' growth, but most public biotech firms such as these are already prohibitively expensive, which may be driving investors to the crop of young, innovative private companies in the hopes they follow a similar path .
much of the current group of early - stage companies were formed in a funding crucible. since 2008, the total amount of money invested in young, innovative firms has fallen, and a decreasing number of venture capitalists have cornerstoned biotech creation (nat. biotechnol. 30, 395–400 (2013) ). bad news, of course, for those seeking investments, but good news for the surviving venture capitalists, who for years have been able to cherry - pick the most potentially disruptive technologies they saw. these prize projects are the ones now making their way into the public market .
this hasn' t gone unnoticed by public investors, and indeed, in this cycle the markets seem to prefer early, science - based companies (box 1). in some ways, says annette grimaldi, managing director at bmo capital markets in new york, young, cutting - edge companies make for more reassuring investments. “there is less of a binary risk for those anyway, ” she says. “investors are not worried about stepping away from their desk for a moment and coming back to find shares down 50% because of a failed trial. ”
agios, founded in 2007 and focused on cellular metabolism in cancer and inborn errors of metabolism, went public in july, raising $ 121. 9 million in gross proceeds, including a fully subscribed overallotment option for underwriters. the company had initially sought $ 86 million, then $ 92 million and raised the number of shares offered in the overallotment, as well. it priced shares well above its anticipated range .
this didn' t happen by chance. from the moment david schenkein came aboard as ceo in 2009, the company angled toward an ipo. “for the last two or three years, we met with 75 to 100 investors, some of them multiple times, ” schenkein says. “and when we did, we said,' we' re meeting with you because we want to go public. and we want you to know the team and the science'. ”
still preclinical at filing, agios was met with “a real enthusiasm to invest in real r & d companies, ” schenkein says. “and i get a sense there is a thirst for something novel; that helped agios a lot. ”
the company priced the ipo with no insider participation—by design, schenkein says, as it wanted to broaden its investor base. it already had three public investors on board through a private investment, and he admits those firms helped grease the skids for the ipo. when it came off, it rocketed. the company' s stock opened on nasdaq at $ 29 and closed higher its first day .
although a combination of factors played into the success, the biggest, schenkein says, was the effort. “the market helped, ” he says, “but the most important element was the time we spent with [ potential buyers ] over the last three or four years. ”
the biggest portion of the companies floating in this cycle is oncology companies—17 of the 37 biotech ipos through the third quarter—though there are platform technologies and firms chasing orphan disease, as well. adam bristol, portfolio manager at aquilo capital in san francisco says that a “rather inelastic market demand and the ability to charge premium prices, especially in the us” still exists for orphan disease and oncology drugs. although he notes that pushback on pricing may be coming, for now companies like regeneron and alexion have successfully transitioned into commercial - stage companies and are receiving high prices for their innovative drugs .
beyond payor issues, a couple of other factors are helping to drive interest in biotech ipos. one is a provision of the jobs act, enacted in april 2012. the provision expands the permissible communication between parties around an ipo, allowing companies to speak with investors about the possibility of participation without disclosing the potential ipo to the public. this has allowed emerging growth companies of all types, biotechs included, to' test the waters' on joining the public markets, though discussing share price is disallowed. the extended runway has proved popular among biopharma firms, leading to some investors feeling swamped by meeting requests .
the second is the us food and drug administration (fda). the 37 drug approvals in 2012 ranked it as the best year in a decade, especially for biologics. eleven of those were cancer drugs. although drug approval numbers for 2013 are so far not looking as rosy, 2012 helped create the perception that the fda is again a willing partner in clearing needed drugs .
the frantic pace of ipos, coupled with the high values being placed on newly public companies and the large amounts of capital being raised, has plenty of people comparing this open window to recent ones— the 2000 bubble and the generally receptive period of 2004–2007. the current environment falls somewhere in between those two. in 2000 there were 101 biotech ipos on global exchanges, by our count (38 originated outside the us). the average amount raised was $ 85 million (urltoken). in the 2004–2007 window, the best year was the last, when there were 51 biotech ipos, raising an average of $ 58 million .
the first nine months of 2013 saw 36 ipos on worldwide exchanges through three quarters, with the average amount raised at $ 73. 8 million .
a handful more have gone public in october, and another 10 were on file at the beginning of november, according to data from bmo capital markets (table 2). it' s not clear where total numbers for 2013 will end up, but noubar afeyan, managing partner and ceo of flagship ventures in cambridge, massachusetts, which has had five of their portfolio companies go public this year, doesn' t see much of a comparison now with the zeal in 2000. “i don' t see [ a bubble ] in the current crop of companies, ” he says, adding that the interest isn' t due to “retail guys who suddenly think they need to get in [ biotech ]. to me, a bubble is what someone calls a cycle if they miss it, or it doesn' t go their way. ”
this is the main difference from 2000, when the mom -' n - pop retail investors— cued in by media coverage on the decoding of the human genome—combined with generalist and specialist biotech investors to push the sector to those historical heights. by contrast, this window is being powered by the generalist investors, who, watching stocks rise overall, began relying on biotech to help beat the broader market performance .
the renewed interest from generalists is also seen in the drop in insider participation for successful ipos. in harder times, innovative biotech ipos were often propped up by already - present investors (generally venture capitalists) agreeing to buy into the public offering to get it completed. brent ahrens, general partner at canaan in menlo park, california, notes that things have reversed now. canaan portfolio company chimerix, for example, went public in april, raising $ 117. 8 million, selling 8, 418, 000 shares including the overallotment. of all those shares, not one was bought by inside investors. “i' m sure there was some [ support ] there if needed, ” he says, “but the company didn' t need it. ”
in fact, many have needed it less. data from bmo capital markets, show that in 2010, of the nine companies that launched an ipo with available data, the average insider participation was 39. 4% , and all nine reported some level of participation. of the 22 with reportable insider participation in 2013, the average amount so far has been 20. 8% ; three reported no insider participation at all .
beyond the obvious benefits of raising money, a robust ipo market helps biotech in other ways. for example, it gives ceos of private companies that might be targets for mergers or acquisitions bargaining power—they can honestly say there are other viable exits for its investors. sizable venture capital exits from these ipos could very well entice new money to contribute to fresh biotech venture capital funds. this could mean the long downward trend in venture capital funding for innovative early - stage biotech will reverse.
acceleron pharma , inc. is a public american " clinical stage biopharmaceutical company " based in boston , massachusetts with a broad focus on developing medicines that regulate the transforming growth factor beta ( tgf-β ) superfamily of proteins , which play fundamental roles in the growth and repair of cells and tissues such as red blood cells , muscle , bone , and blood vessels . 
acceleron pharma, inc. is a public american " clinical stage biopharmaceutical company " based in boston, massachusetts with a broad focus on developing medicines that regulate the transforming growth factor beta (tgf-β) superfamily of proteins, which play fundamental roles in the growth and repair of cells and tissues such as red blood cells, muscle, bone, and blood vessels.
acceleron pharma, inc. is a public american " clinical stage biopharmaceutical company " based in boston, massachusetts with a broad focus on developing medicines that regulate the transforming growth factor beta (tgf-β) superfamily of proteins, which play fundamental roles in the growth and repair of cells and tissues such as red blood cells, muscle, bone, and blood vessels.