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Banks, Health Care & Energy Stocks Led The Way This Week – $BRQS $IBB $IBM $INM $IYH $JNJ $KBE $TRV Rise!

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.
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Quote of the Day:  “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” –  Marcel Proust


Happy Saturday!

I hope that you had another week and that you are out enjoying a great summer weekend. I am enjoying the weekend and remain in Texas and it is indeed hot, but it is wonderful down here in South Padre Island, Texas. The picture above is a my current view in Texas after having toured Elon Musk’s amazing SpaceX facilities in Brownsville, TX this week (pictured below).


As for the broad markets this week, most of the stock indices moved up this week, except for the Nasdaq which finally pulled back after a +30% monster move this year. A number of macroeconomic reports surfaced again. On Monday, The July Empire State Manufacturing Survey came in above expectations at 1.1. On Tuesday, the Total retail sales report in June came in lower than expected at .2% M/M. The Total industrial production report showed .5% M/M drop in June. The capacity utilization rate report ticked lower to 78.9%. The Business inventories report confirmed a .2% increase in May. The NAHB Housing Market Index report showed a move to 56.0 in July. On Wednesday, The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index report confirmed a 1.1% increase & refinancing apps are up 7% while purchase applications were down 1%. The Total housing starts report show an 8% M/M decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.434M. Interestingly, single-family starts came in lower in all regions, but the West which was up 4.6%. Building permits came in 3.7% lower M/M  to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.440M with permits for single-family units even to positive in all regions. The weekly EIA crude oil inventories report came in with a 708k barrel build as oil prices dropped .63% to $75.27. On Thursday, the Initial claims report for the week ending July 15 showed 9k drop to 228k, while the continuing jobless claims report for the week ending July 8 confirmed a 33k rise to 1.754M. The Existing home sales report also showed 3.3% M/M drop in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16M. The Philadelphia Fed Index July report also confirmed that a move to -13.5. The Weekly EIA natural gas inventories came in with  of 41 bcf build & lastly the June Leading Indicators report came at -.7%.

As a result, the yield curve bounced back this week the 2-yr note yield moved up 13bps to 4.85% & the 10-yr note yield moved up 3bps to 3.85%. The U.S. Dollar Index also moved recovered this week closing at 109.09 from 99.96 last Friday.

The S&P 500 closed at 4,536.34 (+.7%) for the week and is now up 18.1% YTD as the health care sector & the energy sector both rose 3.5% led all as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, $170.19, up 6.46%) beating earrings expectations and as oil prices rose to close at $76.91, up 2%.

The Dow 30 closed above the 35k level at 35,227.60 (+2.1%) week and is now up 6.3% YTD.  The Walt Disney Company (DIS) closed at $87.18, -1.62% over the last 5-days & Nike (NKE) closed at $109.06, +1.03% over the last 5-days. IBM (IBM, $138.94, +4.15% over the last 5-days), and Travelers (TRV, $172.82, +4.14% over the last 5-days) both provided strength after beating earrings expectations.

The Nasdaq closed at 14,032.80 (-.6%) and remains up an amazing 34.1% YTD.  

The Russell 2000 closed at 1,960.26 (+1.5%) for the week & is now up 11.3% YTD. The MicroCaps also moved higher this week as the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) closed at $113.12, +1.97% this week & is now up 4.91% YTD.  

Banks stocks showed increased strength agin this week as The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) moved up another 7.54% over the last 5-days to close at $46.38 & the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) also moved up 6.76% over the last 5-days to close at $40.26. 

The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) closed at $13.60 & up .89% over the last 5-days.



As for the biotech sector, the Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) closed at $131.47, +2.52% over the last 5-days and is now up .14% YTD, the NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 5,411.75, +1.62% over the last 5-days and is now up 2.47% YTD, & the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed at $84.97, +.65% over the last 5-days, & is now up 2.37% YTD. The 52-week range is is now $72.44-$95.18.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) closed at $47.93, -1.32% over the last 5-days and is now up 53.43% YTD.   

The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) closed at $286.44, +3.05% over the last 5-days and is now up .96% YTD.  

From the world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) moved to $29,957 & down .63% over the course of the last 5-days at the time of the completion of this message. 

Gold prices closed at $1,971, +$7/oz over the last 5-days. Silver prices closed at $23.26, +$1.44/oz over the last 5-days. 


VP Watchlist Updates

Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN, $4.56, -2.98% over the last 5-days, but was up to $4.80 in the aftermarket on Friday,  an artificial intelligence (“AI”) company developing targeted and transformative cancer therapies using its proprietary RADR® AI and machine learning (“ML”) platform with multiple clinical stage drug programs in place and with a mission to transform the cost, pace, and timeline of oncology drug discovery and development,  announced this week that the Company will participate and present at four upcoming conferences:

  • Biotech CEO Summit USA in La Jolla, CA from July 17-19, 2023. Panna Sharma, Lantern’s CEO and President will be participating.

  • Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Research Association Conference, in Watkins Glen, NY from July 23-27, 2023. Kishor Bhatia Ph.D., Lantern’s Chief Scientific Officer, will be participating, presentation details TBA.

  • Society of Neuro-Oncology/American Society of Clinical Oncology CNS Cancer Conference in San Francisco, CA, on August 10th, 2023 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. PT.
    Presentation Title: LP-184, a novel acylfulvene-derived tumor site activated small molecule inhibits adult and pediatric CNS tumor cell growth

  • International Conference on Drug Conjugates for Directed Therapy in Darmstadt, Germany on Thursday, August 24th, 2023 from 9:45-10:15 a.m. CEST.
    Presentation Title: In-silico Approach for the Identification of ADC Targets with Improved Tumor Selectivity

On June 26, Lantern announced the company has published new findings in Oncotarget demonstrating drug candidate LP-284’s in vitro and in vivo antitumor potency for multiple non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL), including mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and double-hit lymphoma (DHL). The journal article titled “LP-284 Targets Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and DNA Damage Repair Deficiency” further supports LP-284’s development for NHL and advancement towards a first-in-human Phase 1 trial, which is anticipated for the second half of 2023. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) remain one of the leading causes of cancer deaths globally and have an estimated 500,000 new cases globally, with NHL being the leading hematological malignancy in the US. Despite advances for NHL using combination and targeted therapies, nearly 20% to 40% of patients with certain subtypes still relapse after treatment. In aggressive subtypes of NHL, like MCL, nearly all patients relapse from standard-of-care (SOC) therapies. READ MORE at this link.

Lantern Pharma collaborates with leading institutions, researchers and companies to develop and deliver cancer therapies. i.e. Johns Hopkins, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Georgetown University, National Cancer Institute, Danish Cancer Society Research Center (DCRC), UT Health San Antonio. Learn more here. 

Lantern is an artificial intelligence (“AI”) company developing targeted and transformative cancer therapies using its proprietary RADR® AI and machine learning (“ML”) platform with multiple clinical stage drug programs.Lantern believes that the use of machine learning, genomics and computational methods can help accelerate the development and commercialization of small molecule-based therapies. These drugs can be targeted to patients whose genomic profile identifies them as having the highest probability of benefiting from the drug, thereby creating the potential to achieve better outcomes.Their proprietary AI and machine learning (ML) platform, RADR®, leverages over 25 billion oncology-focused data points and a library of 200+ advanced ML algorithms to help solve billion-dollar, real-world problems in oncology drug development. Learn more about Lantern at the VP Watchlist Page.  


The multi-billion-dollar global fertility market is predicted to reach approximately US$47.9 billion by 2030, yet remains severely underserved with many patients (upwards of 90% by many estimates) unable to access affordable treatment. INVO Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVO) offers the INVOcell solution which provides an advanced, effective and affordable infertility treatment to help increase access to care. INVO is commercially advancing INVOcell through the opening of INVO Centers, opportunistically now pursuing acquisitions of established fertility (IVF) clinics in the U.S., and continuing to offer the technology to existing fertility practices.  Shares INVO closed at $.1760, -6.88% over the last 5-days. The 52-wk range is $.15 – $1.65.

On June 27, INVO Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVO,  $.1660), a commercial-stage fertility company focused on expanding access to advanced treatment worldwide with its INVOcell® medical device and the intravaginal culture (“IVC”) procedure it enables, announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to expand the labeling on the INVOcell device and its indication for use to provide for a 5-day incubation period. The data supporting the expanded 5-day incubation clearance demonstrated improved patient outcomes. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO stated, “This is a momentous day for INVO as the FDA has provided clearance for us to expand our labeling to cover a 5-day incubation period for INVOcell. This has been a multi-year effort to demonstrate INVOcell’s ability to improve patient outcomes using a longer incubation period, similar to conventional IVF results. We believe our ability to now communicate the improved success rates using INVOcell to patients and physicians will have a positive effect on the overall confidence and adoption of the technology going forward. The global fertility services market is a substantial, multi-billion-dollar industry and growing, with a significant underserved patient population. INVO’s commercial strategy remains focused on helping to expand affordable care to the underserved patients in need. The Company’s market approach includes the opening of dedicated “INVO Centers” offering INVOcell® and IVC procedure (three centers in North America now operational), the acquisition of existing profitable IVF clinics (signed binding agreements to acquire Wisconsin Fertility Institute), and the continued global distribution and sale of the INVOcell technology solution into existing fertility clinics. We believe the recent 510(k) clearance will help further support our overall commercial activities.”

On April 18, Maxim Group’s Analyst Jason McCarthy, Ph.D. issued a BUY rating on INVO Bioscience (INVO), a commercial-stage fertility company focused on expanding the assisted reproductive technology (ART) marketplace by making fertility care accessible and inclusive to people around the world. His report is titled, “4Q Results and Outlook: Fertility Space Remains Active as INVO Expands Strategy with IVF Clinic Acquisition.” His 12-month Price Target is $3. 

Shares of Borqs Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: BRQS), a global provider of 5G wireless solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and innovative clean energy, with global operations in the U.S., India, and China, closed at $.1931, +7.28% over the last 5-days.

On July 17, Borqs announced its plans to develop an AI-enabled smart watch as part of its expansion strategy into artificial intelligence (AI) for the U.S. market. The AI-enabled smart watch is positioned as an Edge AI device. According to NVIDIA, “Edge AI is the deployment of AI applications in devices throughout the physical world. It’s called “edge AI” because the AI computation is done near the user at the edge of the network, close to where the data is located, rather than centrally in a cloud.” (https://resources.nvidia.com/en-us-it-resources-blogs/what-is-edge-ai) Borqs AI-enabled smart watch will be based on Android and is wirelessly connected via Wifi/BT and cellular networks. It will make use of the AI capability on the watch chipset platform to perform the training and inference of machine learning for the sensors on the watch. The watch will also support ChatGPT or similar AGI capabilities as an intelligent voice assistant. Read more here.

On July 6, Borqs Technologies announced that together with SkyCentrics, they have launched the next generation CTA-2045 ECOPORT communication products. The next-generation products are more price competitive and feature-rich than the current generation products and have significantly better cellular coverage with the use of internal and external antennas. Borqs and SkyCentrics announced their strategic partnership in 2021. The partnership includes joint research & development, sales, and promotion, as well as, Borqs’ investment into SkyCentrics. It will leverage Borqs’ expertise in mobile IoT and 5G technologies. Borqs has years of manufacturing experience in making products worldwide, and has manufactured products for the U.S. mobile operators and Fortune 500 companies. SkyCentrics is an expert in the CTA-2045 and demand response technologies and will be responsible for the CTA-2045 software, ECOPORT certification, and cloud functionality with its Demand Response Energy & Asset Management (DREAM) platform.

The first release of the next generation ECOPORT will start commercial shipment in Q3 in 2023, and both companies forecast strong demand for the products. “I am very pleased that with after one year of development, we’ve successfully developed a suite of very competitive products for the very promising CTA-2045 ECOPORT markets. Together with SkyCentrics, we’ve defined a roadmap for other products which we plan to launch in the latter part of this year as well,” said Pat Chan, CEO of Borqs Technologies.

“With Borqs, we have found a high-quality hardware design and manufacturing partner, which allows us to focus on the software that orchestrates electrical machines in buildings to sync their energy usage to grid prices and carbon emissions. This will enable the grid to support a much larger penetration of intermittent renewable energy, and lower costs for all rate payers,” said Tristan de Frondeville, CEO of SkyCentrics.

A smart city uses various types of electronic methods and sensors to collect data to gain insights in the management and operation of grid loads in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness. As a start in the development of a smart city, mobile connected CTA-2045 devices are chosen by utility companies across the U.S. as the platform for smart management of water heaters, pool pumps and other products with EcoPorts. Historically, all water heaters were ‘dumb,’ controlled by a thermostat and randomly going on and off. The new generation of smart water heaters, connected with CTA-2045 communicating modules can optimize their on/off schedule based on each household’s usage pattern, grid prices and carbon emissions. A key component of electrifying everything is ensuring that all the devices that are electric run on clean energy. It is estimated that the energy savings as well as carbon emission reduction by CTA-2045 controlled residential water heaters can produce staggering results, with each one million CTA-2045 equipped water heaters equating to the removal of 100,000 gasoline powered cars from the highways. Early adoption of CTA-2045 EcoPort enabled water heaters has been underway in low-income multi-family solar and storage communities in Hawaii. Commercial and residential markets in buildings and power grid optimization is estimated to reach $154 billion by the year 2026, according to Verified Market Research in their study “Global Building Automation System Market Size By Technology, By System, By Application, By Geographic Scope And Forecast” (Aug 2020). SkyCentrics is working with major commercial building industrial equipment manufacturers to provide them retrofit kits that will enable their embedded base of existing equipment to be retrofit to have a CTA-2045 EcoPort which will provide an inexpensive way to create the Grid Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs) that were recently promoted by the Biden administration quoting the “National Roadmap for Grid Interactive Efficient Buildings” report by The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and The Brattle Group.


Shares of InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INM), a leader in the research, development and manufacturing of rare cannabinoids, closed at $1.05, 9.38% over the last 5-days.

  • On June 1, InMed announced that results from a neurodegenerative disease study was presented in a scientific poster at the Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Montreal from May 28-31, 2023. The InMed sponsored research, entitled “Cannabinoids modulate cytotoxicity and neuritogenesis in Amyloid-beta-treated neuronal cells”, demonstrated the ability of a specific rare cannabinoid (“pCBx”) in InMed’s 900 Series library of potential candidates that reduces amyloid toxicity and tau protein expression while enhancing neuronal cell growth and neuritogenesis markers in vitro, all considered to be important targets in the potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The research was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Ujendra Kumar and Dr. Rishi Somvanshi of the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Studies have shown that cannabinoids, via their endocannabinoid receptors (CB1R and CB2R) that naturally occur in the human body and brain, reduce amyloid-beta (“Aβ”) toxicity, decrease p-tau protein expression and provide neurite outgrowth, thus improving neuronal viability and function. The results presented demonstrate the anti-apoptotic effects of pCBx and its role in neuritogenesis in the cells of neuronal origin and support the role of pCBx as a potential therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.

  • On May 31, our sister organization, Tribe Public, hosted a Presentation & Q&A Webinar Event titled “InMed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INM) Addressing The Increasing Demand For Rare Cannabinoids.” The event was co-hosted by InMed Pharmaceutical’s (NASDAQ: INM) CEO Eric A. Adams, MIBS, & BayMedica’s Jerry P. Griffin, VP, Sales and Marketing. InMed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INM, $1.34, +6.35%) is a global leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of rare cannabinoids, which is developing a pipeline of rare cannabinoid therapeutics and dedicated to delivering new treatment alternatives to patients that may benefit from cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical drugs. i.e. Alzheimer’s Disease, Glaucoma, & a rare genetic skin disease, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Together with its subsidiary, BayMedica LLC, the Company has unparalleled cannabinoid manufacturing capabilities to serve a spectrum of consumer markets, including pharmaceutical and health and wellness. If you missed this event, then you may now watch the event video at the Tribe Public YouTube Channel by clicking here. 


Eric Adams recently stated, “In the last few months we have seen a noticeable increase in awareness, understanding and adoption of rare cannabinoids in the H&W sector, evidenced by leading companies expanding their product lines to include new formats and formulations using rare cannabinoids such as the non-psychoactive ingredient cannabichromene (“CBC”). We are encouraged by two consecutive periods of significant quarter over quarter revenue growth. We will continue to support growth in a fiscally prudent manner in this relatively nascent market, where product demand can be unpredictable. The combination of a pharmaceutical drug development pipeline, together with a revenue generating commercial operation that will be contributing to extending our cash runway makes InMed a unique company within the rare cannabinoid space.”


Shares of Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need in oncology, with a current focus on breast cancer and radiation-induced lung injury, closed at $1.13, -8.87% over the last 5-days and is up 113.21% YTD.

On July 20 Atossa announced that Health Canada has issued a “No Objection Letter”following the Company’s Clinical Trial Application for its Phase 2 EVANGELINE study. This means Atossa can open sites and enroll patients in their Phase 2 EVANGELINE study throughout Canada.
 

July 6th, Atossa announced a a strategic, sponsored research agreement with Weill Cornell Medicine to study the potential of inducing estrogen receptor (ER) expression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The goal of this research is to determine if treating TNBC with extracellular vesicles carrying the ER will convert the tumor to ER+ and render it sensitive to treatment with Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERM), including Atossa’s proprietary (Z)-endoxifen. The research project will be led by David Lyden, M.D., Ph.D., the Stavros S. Niarchos Professor in Pediatric Cardiology and Director of the Department of Pediatrics’ Physician Scientist Training Program at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Lyden’s laboratory is focused on the molecular pathways activated by tumor extracellular vesicle uptake at the metastatic site and identifying potential therapeutic targets to thwart metastasis. His work has led to a new understanding of how primary tumor cells dictate their own metastases, by decoding how cancer-derived extracellular vesicles mediate intercellular communication. Most recently, Dr. Lyden has identified specific extracellular vesicle subpopulations and discovered a new subset of particles known as exomeres, which collectively have distinct functional roles in the systemic effects of cancer.

On June 28, Atossa and Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative™ announced that six patients have been dosed with Atossa’s proprietary Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM), (Z)-endoxifen, in the ongoing Phase 2 I-SPY 2 clinical trial. (Z)-endoxifen is being evaluated as a neoadjuvant treatment for patients with newly diagnosed estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) invasive breast cancer whose tumors are predicted to be sensitive to endocrine therapy but for whom chemotherapy is expected to provide little or no benefit.

On June 27, Atossa announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program with authorization to purchase up to $10 million of its common stock through December 31, 2023.

On June 21, Atossa announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a new patent (No. 11,680,036) directed to enterically encapsulated endoxifen compositions formulated as a suspension. These include all liquid suspension formulations suitable for oral administration and dispersible tablets, powders, granules, pellets or sprinkles for reconstitution, which are commonly used for pediatric administration. A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture. It differs from a solution, which is a homogeneous mixture, in that the particles in a solution are much smaller and are dissolved in a solvent, therefore staying mixed together. In a suspension, the particles are large, do not dissolve, and will separate. Advantages of suspension formulations may include ease of delivery of low soluble therapeutic agents, increased bioavailability of drug dosage, controlled drug delivery and resistance to degradation. Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer, “Our new patent covering suspension formulations is important as we continue to learn more about the potential therapeutic role of endoxifen beyond breast cancer and mammographic breast density. Suspension formulations are particularly useful in pediatric applications where drugs are often dosed by weight and delivered via powders or sprinkles mixed with food and dispersible tablets, which are easier for children to ingest compared to tablets.”

On June 12, Atossa announced that the pharmacokinetic (PK) run-in cohort of the Phase 2 EVANGELINE (Endoxifen Versus exemestANe GosEreLIn) study has fully enrolled. EVANGELINE is a randomized non-inferiority trial of Atossa’s patented Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM), (Z)-endoxifen, and exemestane plus goserelin as a neoadjuvant treatment for pre-menopausal women with Grade 1 or 2 Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) / Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 negative (HER2-) breast cancer. The PK run-in cohort consists of six patients, all of whom will be treated with (Z)-endoxifen at 40mg/day for four weeks. The goal of the PK run-in cohort is to determine if the 40mg dose delivers steady-state plasma concentrations (Css) between 500 – 1000 ng/mL, which are optimal to target PKCβ1 inhibition and enhance (Z)-endoxifen’s antitumor mechanism of action. Once the optimal dose of (Z)-endoxifen is determined, the Treatment Cohort will commence. Participants in the treatment cohort will receive neoadjuvant treatment for up to six months, followed by surgery. The study is expected to enroll approximately 175 patients at up to 25 sites across the United States.



Atossa’s CEO, Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., presented at a Tribe Public even titled “Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) Redefining Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment” on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Dr. Quay provided an update on the clinical development of Atossa’s proprietary Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM), (Z)-endoxifen, which is currently being investigated in three separate Phase 2 studies. You may view the event at the following link at the Tribe Public YouTube Channel. .

 

Recently, I c0-hosted a couple of our sister organization’s (Tribe Public) CEO Presentation and Q&A events that were held in Scottsdale and Peoria, AZ. The events were co-hosted by Travis Whitfill, MPH MPhil PhD(c), Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Azitra, Inc., a company that successfully priced their Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq with the ticker ‘AZTR’ recently on Friday, June 16, 2023 and closed trading today at $4.0832, -2.92% over the last 5-days. Mr. Whitfill provided a presentation about Azitra’s precision dermatology platform that is augmented by an artificial intelligenceand machine learning technology that analyzes, predicts, and helps screen our library of strains for drug like molecules. You can learn more about their company today at their website https://azitrainc.com.  Thanks again for those of you that joined this event and please note that I intend on hosting the Phoenix events on the last Thursday of each month going forward with a list of evolving companies that the Tribe is seeking to meet. If you want a direct invitation going forward for Scottsdale or other cities where the Tribe is hosting events, then please let me know.  Here’s a little more info Azitra’s CEO:

Travis Whitfill (pictured above) is a serial biotech entrepreneur. He is the is the cofounder and Chief Operating Officer at Azitra. His background began in molecular biology and biochemistry after receiving scientific training at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Duke University, and Yale University. Previously, Travis was a Partner at Bios Partners, which is biotech-focused venture capital fund. He has sat on the board of several portfolio companies, including 410 Medical, Immusoft Corporation, IN8bio (NASDAQ: INAB) and SIRPant Immunotherapeutics. He also is an Assistant Professor Adjunct in the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Yale University. Mr. Whitfill has led numerous grant-funded projects, holds nearly a dozen patents, and has co-authored over 50 publications.

He was on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list (healthcare) in 2018. Mr. Whitfill received degrees from Yale University (MPH), University College London (MPhil), Dallas Baptist University (BS), and is finishing a PhD from University College London in innovation and economics.

 


Cytovia Therapeutics aims to accelerate patient access to transformational cell therapies and immunotherapies, addressing several of the most challenging unmet medical needs in cancer. Cytovia focuses on harnessing the innate immune system by developing complementary and disruptive iPSC-derived Natural Killer (iNK) cell and Flex-NK™ bispecific antibody platforms. The company is developing three types of iNK cells: unedited iNK cells, TALEN® gene-edited iNK cells with improved function and persistence, and TALEN® gene-edited iNK cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-iNKs) to improve tumor-specific targeting. The second complementary cornerstone technology is a quadrivalent multifunctional antibody platform designed to engage natural killer cells by targeting NKp46 using Cytovia’s proprietary Flex-NK™ technology. These two technology platforms are being used to develop treatment for patients with solid tumors such as HCC and glioblastoma as well as hematological malignancies such as refractory multiple myeloma. Headquartered in Aventura, FL., Cytovia has research and development laboratories in Natick, MA. The company’s own R&D work is augmented through scientific partnerships with Cellectis, CytoImmune, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, INSERM, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Cytovia has a partnership with CytoLynx Therapeutics focused on research and development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities in Greater China.

On May 17, Cytovia Therapeutics R&D Team Presented Poster at ASGCT 2023 on GPC3-Targeted TALEN® Gene-Edited CAR-iNK Cell.

On Dec. 9, 2022, Cytovia announced new preclinical data for its CD38-targeted Flex-NK™ bispecific antibody at the American Society of Hematology’s 64th Annual Meeting (ASH 2022) taking place in New Orleans, LA, and virtually December 10-13th, 2022. “We’re delighted to see further progress on our CD38-targeted Flex-NK™ bispecific antibody program, with a pre-clinical package that supports clinical evaluation in 2023,” commented Cytovia CEO Dr. Daniel Teper. “The data presented at ASH suggests that CYT-338, our CD38-targeted Flex-NK™ Bispecific Antibody, has a differentiated profile compared to daratumumab, the leading CD38-targeted monoclonal antibody and that CYT-338 may have the ability to overcome NK cell exhaustion and dysfunction.”  Cytovia believes that by redirecting and activating NK cells to kill myeloma cells, bispecific antibodies have the potential to offer new options for patients not responding to first lines of treatment.”



Shares of ADT Inc. (ADT), the most trusted brand in smart home and small business security, closed at $6.30, -1.87% over the last 5-days. On May 2, ADT reported results for the first quarter of 2023 highlighting strong year-over-year growth in revenue; CSB and Commercial up 7% and 15%, respectively, versus prior year period, maintained record high customer retention and new record high recurring monthly revenue balance, improved capital efficiency with record revenue payback, & continued deleveraging with over $400 million debt reduction expected in 2023.


Thanks again for your attention this week. Please continue to share your thoughts, questions, & ideas as we move forward. 

In the meantime, please enjoy the balance of the weekly newsletter’s videos, quotes, updates and let’s find ways to crush it again as we move forward!

Investing & Inspiration

  1. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” –  Marcel Proust
  2. “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill
  3. “Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.” – Earl Wilson
  4. “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
  5. “Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.”– Samuel Smiles
  6. “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain
  7. “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent Van Gogh
  8. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
  9. “Our lives improve only when we take chances – and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.” – Walter Anderson
  10. “Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso
  11. “Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” – John Wooden
  12. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs
  13. “All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – Havelock Ellis
  14. “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” – Robert Kiyosaki
  15. “O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley
  16. “Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.” – Elon Musk
  17. “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” – John Boyle O’Reilly
  18. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale
  19. “Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” – Boris Pasternak
  20. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
  21. “It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
  22. “Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.” – Meister Eckhart
  23. “Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.” – Leo Buscaglia
  24. “Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar.” – Wordsworth
  25. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
  26. “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” – Tecumseh
  27. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  28. “There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
  29. “The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
  30. “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
  31. “The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” – Barack Obama
  32. “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius
  33. “No man was ever wise by chance.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  34. “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
  35. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare

  36. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

  37. “I want to put a ding in the universe.” – Steve Jobs

  38. “Research is creating new knowledge.” – Neil Armstrong

  39. “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” – Jonas Salk
  40. “Man is a creative retrospection of nature upon itself.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
  41. “There’s something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy.” – Ken Kesey

  42. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather

  43. “The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.” – Nadia Boulanger

  44. “More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.” – Rose Kennedy

  45. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” – Archimedes

  46. “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” – Mark Twain

  47. “The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost

  48. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi

  49. “Without labor nothing prospers.” – Sophocles

  50. “Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” – Albert Einstein

  51. “This is the precept by which I have lived: Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.” – Hannah Arendt

  52. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

  53. “He who is brave is free.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  54. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

  55. “I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don’t need.” – Auguste Rodin

  56. “Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

  57. “He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” – Lao Tzu

  58. “Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.” – Stewart Udall

  59. “In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama

  60. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
  61. “Inflation destroys savings, impedes planning, and discourages investment. That means less productivity and a lower standard of living.” – Kevin Brady
  62. “If we give something positive to others, it will return to us. If we give negative, that negativity will be returned.” – Allu Arjun
  63. “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” ~ George S. Patton
  64. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
  65. “Success is dependent on effort.” – Sophocles
  66. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
  67. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
  68. “And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.” – Black Elk
  69. “Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” – Joseph Hall
  70. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou
  71. “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” – Clint Eastwood
  72. “We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” – Ray Bradbury
  73. “If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” – Confucius
  74. “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” – Robert H. Schuller
  75. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
  76. “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell
  77. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha”
  78. Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” –  Boris Pasternak
  79. “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran 
  80. “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
  81. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  82. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” –  Colin Powell
  83. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  84. “Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein
  85. “Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” – W. Clement Stone
  86. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
  87. “In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” – Albert Einstein
  88. “Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
  89. “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry Kissinger
  90. “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” – Oliver Goldsmith
  91. “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
  92. “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living.” – Omar N. Bradley
  93. “Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” – Rumi
  94. “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
  95. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
  96. “Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” – Nelson Mandela
  97. “The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.” – John Maynard Keynes
  98. “A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
  99. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein
  100. “It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
  101. “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming
  102. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
  103. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
  104. “Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.” – Muhtar Kent
  105. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Abraham Lincoln
  106. “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
  107. “Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” – Donna Karan
  108. “It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things progress.” – Nathan Chen
  109. “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
  110. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
  111. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
  112. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell
  113. “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
  114. “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
  115. “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
  116. “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
  117. “I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it’s proactive and there is positive intent behind it.” – Michael J. Fox
  118. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
  119. “But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion.” – Bill Nye
  120. “Bitcoin, in the short or even long term, may turn out be a good investment in the same way that anything that is rare can be considered valuable. Like baseball cards. Or a Picasso.” – Andrew Ross Sorkin
  121. “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” – Charlie Chaplin
  122. “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you’ll find the positive side of things.” – Demi Lovato
  123. “Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions.” – Oren Etzioni
  124. “Educating our children and giving them the skills they need to compete in a global economy is a smart investment in our country’s future.” – Sheldon Whitehouse
  125. “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu
  126. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  127. “Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.” – Franz Liszt
  128. “The sofa is a really important investment for anybody, and I don’t mean financially. You need to find a really great sofa that can transition with you, and you can build from there.” – Jeremiah Brent
  129. “There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment.” – Orison Swett Marden
  130. “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
  131. “There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
  132. “In tennis, you strike a ball just after the rebound for the fastest return. It’s the same with investment.” – Masayoshi Son
  133. “A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane.” – Jackie Kennedy
  134. “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” – Bill Gates
  135. “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius, Chinese 
  136. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
  137. “Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”– Albert Einstein
  138. “Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” – Ed Markey
  139. “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
  140. “In my view, the biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. Not only is the mere drop in stock prices not risk, but it is an opportunity. Where else do you look for cheap stocks?” – Li Lu
  141. “A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
  142. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
  143. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” – Elie Wiesel
  144. “Investing in women’s lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations – and consequently in our own long-term national interests.” – Liya Kebede
  145. “Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
  146. “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch 
  147. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”– Arthur Ashe
  148. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
  149. “The amount of work and the amount of both physical and emotional investment it takes to get to the top.” – Drew Bledsoe

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