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Investors Take Another Scoop On Thursday As CDC Sets The Fully Vaccinated ‘FREE’!

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.
“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


Happy Thursday!

I hope the markets treated you well today.  I guess the good vibes that I sent out yesterday were heard to some to degree as investors grabbed another scoop of the their favorite stocks and the major indices closed positively across the board. Was it a bounce or firm ground or maybe an aggressive reaction to the news that the CDC had set the fully vaccinated  ‘free’? No one really knows but I will take as the beat down recently has not been great for any of us.  

By the way,  CDC specifically stated that if you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. But this is progress at the end of the day. They also stated that if you haven’t been vaccinated yet, then find a vaccine today. Enough said!

Nevertheless, it was a positive day for the board markets as the Dow 30 closed back over 34k ending at 34,021.45 (+1.29%, the S&P 500 closed at 4,112.50 (+1.22%), the Nasdaq moved up .72% closing at 13,124.99, & the Russell 200 had a great day after yesterday’s nearly 4 point hit closing at 2,170.95 (+1.68%). 

The yield curve behaved as well as the 10-yr treasury yield fell 3 basis points to close at 1.67% & the 2-yr yield moved up 1 basis point to close at .16%. The Fed’s Waller reconfirmed that inflation pressures are likely transitory and hopefully more understanding that may be the case and their fears will subside.  The U.S. Dollar Index essentially stayed the same at 90.70.

The macroeconomic schedule produced two significant reports today as the PPI for final demand report confirmed a rise by .6% m/m. The index for final demand rose .7% m/m. For the week ending May 8 the initial jobless claims report confirmed a drop by 34k to 473k, while continuing claims for the week ending May 1 dropped by 45k to 3.655M. Tomorrow’s schedule will deliver the Retail Sales report for April, the Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report for April, & the preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment report for May .

However, oil prices pulled back significantly by 3.2% to end at $63.82/bbl, while the energy sector closed down 1.4%. The other ten sectors all closed in the green with the industrials & financials both jumping 1.9% & the utilities moving up 1.8% while the information technology sector move up a solid 1.4%.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) closed at $133.05, +1.33%.  The FAANG stocks closed got back to their winning ways across board as follows: Apple (AAPL) closed at $124.97, +1.79% & back above its 200-day MA of $123,12. Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $2,261.97, +1.02%, & Amazon (AMZN) closed at $3,161.47, +.3%, Facebook (FB) closed at $305.26, +.9%, & Netflix (NFLX) closed at $486.66/share, +.35%. The MicroSectors FANG+ Index 3X Leveraged ETN (FNGU), which offers 3x leveraged exposure to an index of “FANG” companies, and other companies that exhibit similar characteristics, closed at curiously down at $23.90, -1.89%. EV giant Tesla (TSLA) closed down once again today at $571.69, -3.09% as people are still trying figure Elon Musk’s latest statement that the company would not be accepting Bitcoin for payment. Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) closed at $243.03, +1.69%. Famous tech and biotech investor Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) continued to takin on the chin as it closed at 99.48, -2.62%, now off ~44% from its high. 

The biotech sector fell sharply again, but did recover from its earlier depths showing some resilience today. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed lower at $122.48 -.1.32% after hitting a low of $119.98 in the early part of the session and remains substantially off from its 52-week high $174.79 but above the 52-week low of $97.15. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) also closed at $146.13, -.16% & the NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 5,471.79 bumping up +.08%. 

After the close today, Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FATE, $71.5, -1.08%) announced encouraging interim Phase 1 data from the Company’s off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) cell programs in relapsed / refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study of FT516 as monotherapy is currently enrolling patients in the third dose cohort (900 million cells per dose), with three patients treated in the first dose cohort (90 million cells per dose) and six patients treated in the second dose cohort (300 million cells per dose). The Phase 1 dose-escalation study of FT538 as monotherapy is currently ongoing, with three patients treated in the first dose cohort (100 million cells per dose). As of the data cutoff date of April 16, 2021, five of 12 patients had achieved an objective response with complete leukemic blast clearance in the bone marrow (FT516 [n=9]: 3 complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery [CRi], 1 morphologic leukemia-free state [MLFS]; FT538 [n=3]: 1 CRi). Of the four patients achieving a CRi, one patient successfully proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplant and the other three patients remained on-study and in remission without further therapeutic intervention, two of whom remained in remission having been on-study for more than six months. Clinical assessments were based on the 2017 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) response criteria (Blood (2017) 129 (4): 424–447). Importantly, no dose-limiting toxicities, and no cases of any grade of cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, or graft-versus-host disease, were observed.

Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic “off-the-shelf” gene-edited Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-NK cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies, announced today that Jason Aryeh, a long time biotech investor and board director, has been elected to the Cytovia Board of Directors, effective immediately. In addition, to support the rapid development of the company, Elizabeth Schwarzbach, PhD and Boris Reznik, PhD have joined the Strategic Advisory Board and Elysa Mantel has been appointed as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. “I am delighted to join the Cytovia board,” commented Mr. Aryeh. “Cytovia is uniquely positioned to become a leader in the rapidly growing field of NK (Natural Killer) Cancer Therapeutics. Cytovia has the potential to positively affect the lives of many patients and consequently create substantial shareholder value in the next few years and beyond.”

Precious metals plays also moved lower as follows:  the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) closed at $25.16, +.28% & the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) closed at $171.13, +.41% as silver closed at $27.17/oz, -.02 & gold closed above $1,828, +$9. North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining (HL) closed at $7.13 moving down .97%. Last week, Hecla announced first quarter 2021 financial and operating results. HL highlighted the following results: Sales of $210.9 million, second highest in the 130-year history, a 54% increase over prior year, Gross profit of $64.8 million, an increase of $53.4 million over prior year, Cash provided by operating activities of $37.9 million and $16.5 million of quarterly free cash flow, Silver production of 3.5 million ounces, a 7% increase over prior year period.

VP WATCHLIST HIGHLIGHTS


You can review our complete VP Watchlist that we believe deserve consideration for short term and long term portfolio adds that include Apple, Tesla, & seven other names. The pages will enable you to stay informed and learn more about these companies daily.

Please review few of the updates on a few of the VP Watchlist companies below: 


  • INmune Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: INMB) closed at $9.29, -7.65%. INMB is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on developing treatments that harness the patient’s innate immune system to fight disease. INMB is further focused on modulating components of the innate immune system to activate an immune response against cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
    • INmune Bio’s DN-TNF product platform utilizes dominant-negative technology to selectively neutralize soluble TNF, a key driver of innate immune dysfunction and mechanistic target of many diseases. DN-TNF is in clinical trial to determine if it can treat for COVID-19 complications (Quellor™), cancer (INB03™), Alzheimer’s and treatment resistant depression (XPro595), and NASH (LIVNate™). The Natural Killer Cell Priming Platform includes INKmune™ aimed at priming the patient’s NK cells to eliminate minimal residual disease in patients with cancer. INmune Bio’s product platforms utilize a precision medicine approach for the treatment of a wide variety of hematologic malignancies, solid tumors and chronic inflammation.
    • INMB reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided a business update on Wednesday, May 5th. RJ Tesi, M.D., chief executive officer of INmune Bio stated, “We continued to treat patients in the Phase I XPro1595 Alzheimer’s disease trial and expand the extensive biomarker data. The interim data that we reported in January confirms that XPro1595 decreases neuroinflammation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and supports transitioning to a blinded randomized placebo-controlled Phase II trial later this year. We regard these results as extremely promising and look forward to further confirmation of XPro1595’s potential benefit to these patients in a rigorously designed Phase 2 study. We will report the additional biomarker data later this Summer. We have started screening patients in the Phase I INKmune NK cell priming platform trial in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MDS is a serious hematopoietic stem cell disorder in which patients have functionally defective NK cells, and approximately one-third of cases progress to AML. We created a short 5-minute video that we believe does a wonderful job explaining why NK cells fail to clear cancer and how the cellular and molecular interactions by INKmune activate NK cells to kill resistant tumors. The video can be found by clicking here.
 

  • Natural-Killer cell (NKcell) focused biopharmaceutical firm Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed at $71.51/share, -1.08%.

    • On May 13, FATE announced encouraging interim Phase 1 data from the Company’s off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) cell programs in relapsed / refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study of FT516 as monotherapy is currently enrolling patients in the third dose cohort (900 million cells per dose), with three patients treated in the first dose cohort (90 million cells per dose) and six patients treated in the second dose cohort (300 million cells per dose). The Phase 1 dose-escalation study of FT538 as monotherapy is currently ongoing, with three patients treated in the first dose cohort (100 million cells per dose). As of the data cutoff date of April 16, 2021, five of 12 patients had achieved an objective response with complete leukemic blast clearance in the bone marrow (FT516 [n=9]: 3 complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery [CRi], 1 morphologic leukemia-free state [MLFS]; FT538 [n=3]: 1 CRi). Of the four patients achieving a CRi, one patient successfully proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplant and the other three patients remained on-study and in remission without further therapeutic intervention, two of whom remained in remission having been on-study for more than six months. Clinical assessments were based on the 2017 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) response criteria (Blood (2017) 129 (4): 424–447). Importantly, no dose-limiting toxicities, and no cases of any grade of cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, or graft-versus-host disease, were observed.

    • On May 5th, Fate reported business highlights and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics stated, “During the first quarter of 2021, we strengthened our balance sheet by raising $460 million and successfully positioned our off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived NK cell pipeline to achieve significant clinical milestones across our disease franchises throughout the remainder of the year. We look forward to sharing Phase 1 clinical data from our FT516 and FT538 programs in relapsed / refractory AML at an investor event to be held alongside the ASGCT conference. We are also pleased with the clinical expansion of our FT538 program into solid tumors, where we plan to combine with FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR, HER2, and PDL1. While we are disappointed that the PROTECT study of ProTmune did not meet its primary endpoint for prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease following allogeneic stem cell transplant, we will now turn our full attention and resources to our deep pipeline of off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived cancer immunotherapies. We would like to sincerely thank the patients, caregivers and investigators who participated in the clinical investigation of ProTmune, and we intend to share our clinical findings with that community.”

    • On April, 27th the company announced that two oral and two digital presentations of the Company’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform were accepted for presentation at the 24th American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Annual Meeting (ASGCT) being held virtually from May 11-14, 2021. In addition to the Company’s presentations at ASGCT, its iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) cell product pipeline is expected to be featured in a meeting symposium on May 11 by Jeffrey S. Miller, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota and Deputy Director of the Masonic Cancer Center and scientific advisor and collaborator of the Company, and its iPSC-derived CAR T-cell product platform is expected to be highlighted during the meeting’s plenary session on May 12 by Michel Sadelain, M.D., Ph.D., Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair and Director, Center for Cell Engineering, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and collaborator of the Company. The Company also plans to host a virtual investor event on May 13 to highlight interim Phase 1 clinical data from its FT516 and FT538 programs for the treatment of relapsed / refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Phase 1 clinical trial of FT516 has enrolled the first and second dose cohorts (90 million and 300 million cells per dose, respectively), and dose escalation is ongoing in the third dose cohort (900 million cells per dose). The Phase 1 clinical trial of FT538 is ongoing in the first dose cohort (100 million cells per dose).
    • On March 25, FATE announced that Daniel D. Shoemaker, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, has advised the Company that he is retiring as of June 30, 2021 after more than 12 years with the Company. Dr. Shoemaker has been with Fate Therapeutics since February 2009, having served as the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer since May 2015. Bob Valamehr, Ph.D., Chief Research and Development Officer of Fate Therapeutics and scientific leader of its iPSC Product Platform since January 2010, will continue to lead all research and development activities.
    • On Jan. 8, FATE announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of ~$432 million at $85.50/share. Jefferies, BofA Securities, SVB Leerink and Barclays acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

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  • INVO Bioscience (NASDAQ: INVO) is a medical device company focused on creating alternative treatments for patients diagnosed with infertility and developers of INVOcell®, the world’s only in vivo Intravaginal Culture System. Shares of INVO closed at $3.86/share, -2.03% today. 
  • Could we be setting up for another March 9, 2021 type of run where +96M shares traded for this low-float stock (~10.4M shares are issued and outstanding) the stock shot to a new 52-week high of $12.30….?
    • On May 11, after the close, I found a 13G filed today that confirms that David Sable’s (a former #IVF doc turned portfolio manager) Special Situations Fund of AWM Investment Company increased to 11.1% or 1,154,153 share ownership of INVO Bioscience( INVO). They held 625k/6.5% as of the 13G filing 2-12-2021. If you are not familiar with them, I believe if you do a relatively small amount sleuthing you will find out that they are one of the most successful multi-billion funds over the last 20-years, especially when find small undiscovered microchips. I believe that they led the round of $13M at $3.20 a share in November 12, 202o that pushed INVO upmost to the NASDAQ. Here’s the 13G filing
    • INVO will report financial results for its first quarter 2021, ended March 31, 2021, after the market close on Monday, May 17, 2021. The Company has scheduled a conference call that same day, Monday, May 17, 2021, at 4:30 pm ET, to review the results. You can access the conference call by dialing 833-756-0861 or 412-317-5751. Live Webcast Information: Interested parties can access the conference call via a live webcast, which is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at https://www.invobioscience.com/investors/ or https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2162/40939.
    • On May 10th, INVO announced the appointment of tenured women’s health & fertility solution marketing professional, Meryle Lynn Chamberlain, as Director of Marketing, a newly created position within the company. Chamberlain joined INVO Bioscience to spearhead and expand INVO Bioscience’s global marketing and brand management strategy for INVOcell, fertility care that is accessible, inclusive, and affordable to the more than 90% of couples in need of fertility treatment that currently go without care. Chamberlain brings over 15 years of marketing experience in the women’s health field including her most recent role as a Product Marketing Manager at Wildflower Health, a digital health company focused on women’s health and pregnancy and the Marketing Manager at The Emergency Nurses Association, an international healthcare organization, where she led integrated marketing strategies for all products, services and events. Ms. Chamberlain has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University and the Integrated Marketing Certificate from DePaul University.
    • After the close April 26, INVO announced the appointment of Rebecca Messina to the Company’s board of directors. Ms. Messina has broad international experience in leading marketing for elite brands and businesses including Uber Technologies (UBER), Beam Suntory and The Coca-Cola Company (KO). She is currently a Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company focused on advising internal teams and firm clients in the areas of marketing as a growth lever, including data driven marketing, brand building, and strategically shaping and transforming marketing agendas. Messina has also served as Global Chief Marketing Officer of Uber Technologies (UBER). As Uber’s first-ever CMO, Messina focused on executing Uber’s first global marketing organization, building a world class marketing network, with the mission of helping the company define a strong brand in the hearts and minds of all Uber stakeholders – furthering a movement around the possibilities of “progress for all” in a shared economy. Messina has been the recipient of a number of accolades, including: Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOs, 2019; Ad Age, Women to Watch 2016; Business Insider, Most Innovative CMOs in the World 2016; as well as serving on several boards including the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
    • On April 19, INVO announced the execution of a partnership agreement with Lyfe Medical, LLC (“Lyfe Medical”) focused on the expansion of the INVOcell solution in Northern California (with an area population of ~8 million people). “We believe that INVOcell can help address key infertility treatment industry challenges regarding cost & capacity constraints to help serve the very large underserved patient population. We are excited to sign this partnership agreement with the team at Lyfe Medical, a physician-led premier-level fertility practice, to establish an INVO center in the Northern California fertility market to help further our mission to increase access to care and expand fertility treatment across the globe. Lyfe has shown a strong commitment to bringing INVOcell into this region. We look forward to ramping up our respective requirements and begin operations later this year,” stated Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience. Please read the story here
    • On April 13,  I hosted INVO’s CEO Steve Shum at the Tribe Public CEO Presentation – Q&A Webinar Event where he delivered his presentation is titled “Democratizing Infertility – A Severely Underserved Global Market.” You may view the video of the event now at his link: https://youtu.be/w4yQIc7eO5k.
    • On March 30, INVO announced 2020 financial results and highlights.  Steve Shum, Chief Executive Officer of INVO Bioscience stated, “In the face of a difficult year for many industries, including the fertility business, I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the entire INVO Bioscience team. During the year, we put in place a number of building blocks for the future, which are already beginning to pay dividends. Recently we announced our plan to open our first U.S.-based INVOcell clinic in partnership with some of the most highly accomplished INVOcell practitioners in the world. Our partners are not only extremely well-versed in the INVOcell technology, but also have a proven track record of successful implementation of the platform within an established clinical setting. A few months prior, we announced that we plan to open dedicated INVOcell clinics in Mexico with Dr. Francisco Arredondo and Dr. Ramiro Ramirez, who were also early adopters of the INVOcell solution and have established a successful track record of successful implementation of INVOcell in a clinical setting. We believe the combination of strong distribution partners such as Ferring in the U.S. and other locations around the world, coupled with dedicated INVOcell clinics partnerships which INVO Bioscience has an equity interest in, position the Company well for the future. Another key development during the year was the availability of additional positive real-world usage data highlighting the success of INVOcell, including a published peer-reviewed manuscript (report). We expect to see further data from this year’s SART information in the near future. In our opinion, this expanded retrospective, real world validated data is extremely valuable to our commercial efforts and builds confidence with practitioners. We believe that this expanding portfolio of usage data will play an important role in expanding and accelerating market adoption.”
    • On March 8, INVO announced that they has agreed to an amendment of their agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals that provides for an increase in the number of INVO company-owned US-based clinics initially allowable under the agreement and removes certain geographical restrictions. The amendment also adjusted the remaining annual 2020 minimum contractual product purchase requirement, whereby Ferring will place a $501,000 order, which will be recognized as revenue by INVO Bioscience in the first quarter of 2021. READ STORY.
    • On March 1, INVO announced the Company has received approval by COFEPRIS to import INVOcell into Mexico. In late 2020, INVO Bioscience established a joint venture focused on establishing fertility centers dedicated to offering INVOcell, with the initial center, called Positib Fertility, to be located in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience, commented, “We are extremely pleased to have received approval by COFEPRIS to begin importing INVOcell into Mexico. This was a key step in the process to open our first joint venture owned clinic in the large and growing Mexico market for infertility services. Our internal team along with our JV partners have and continue to work aggressively and with a relentless focus to bring the INVOcell treatment option to the many patients in need of care within Mexico.”
    • On Jan. 27, INVO announced that it has advanced its commercialization efforts into the European fertility market by securing initial orders of INVOcell in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. INVOcell will initially be available at three separate existing fertility clinics which have placed orders and commenced training. Please read the story here.
    • Industry forecasts suggest that only 1% to 2% of the estimated 150 million infertile couples worldwide are currently being treated. INVO’s mission is to increase access to care and expand infertility treatment across the globe with a goal of improving patient affordability and industry capacity.


  • Shares of Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases, closed today at $14.99, -1.06%.
    • On May 12, Chinook provided a business update and reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 today. Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics stated, “During the first quarter of 2021, Chinook made strong progress with its pipeline of programs for kidney diseases, including initiating the phase 3 ALIGN and phase 2 AFFINITY trials of atrasentan, presenting encouraging clinical data from the BION-1301 program and entering into a strategic collaboration with Evotec. We are well-capitalized and resourced to execute across our programs to generate additional data catalysts and continue building Chinook into a leading kidney disease company.”
    • On April 15, Chinook announced six poster presentations at the ISN World Congress of Nephrology 2021 (WCN ’21). Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook stated, “The depth and breadth of our presence at this year’s WCN ’21 is a testament to Chinook’s role as a leading kidney disease company. Our data demonstrating BION-1301’s ability to significantly reduce Gd-IgA1 levels in healthy volunteers, as well as the favorable pharmacodynamics of subcutaneous administration of BION-1301, position the program well to move forward in demonstrating its disease-modifying potential for IgA nephropathy patients. In addition, our preclinical poster presentations on atrasentan provide broader insights into its anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory properties that are additive and complementary to its proteinuria-lowering mechanism of action.”
    • On April 15, Chinook’s CEO Eric Dobmeier  & CBO Tom Frohlich delivered a presentation titled “Revolutionizing The Treatment of Kidney Disease” followed by a Q&A session at the Tribe Public Network. You can view the video of the event here. 
    • On April 7, KDNY provided a business update and reported financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2020. Eric Dobmeier, President and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics stated, “We are executing well on our goal of building Chinook into a leading kidney disease company. 2020 was a very busy and productive year, as we in-licensed atrasentan from AbbVie, closed a $115 million financing, brought BION-1301 into our pipeline through the merger with Aduro, unveiled CHK-336, our first internally-developed program, and bolstered our precision medicine discovery and research efforts. We are excited to have recently initiated our atrasentan phase 3 ALIGN and phase 2 AFFINITY trials and announced our collaboration with Evotec. We look forward to multiple data announcements from our BION-1301 program this year, as well as continuing to move CHK-336 towards the clinic. Our team has grown over 300 percent since the beginning of 2020, and we’re continuing to execute on our hiring plans to ensure we have strong resourcing in place to advance our pipeline. Our solid cash position, which we expect to fund our operations to the middle of 2023, enables us to achieve key milestones across our programs.”
    • On Monday, April 5th, KDNY announced a transaction with Van Herk Investments, a leading European life science investor, to create and fund a new company called Sairopa, with a pipeline focused on research and development of non-renal monoclonal antibodies generated through Aduro Biotech’s B-Select platform. Chinook will own approximately 40 percent of Sairopa after the first tranche of financing from Van Herk and have one seat on Sairopa’s Board of Directors.
    • On March 16, Chinook announced that the first patient with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) has been enrolled in the ALIGN Study, a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of atrasentan, a potent and selective inhibitor of the endothelin A receptor. “The initiation of the phase 3 ALIGN Study is an important milestone for Chinook as we advance our pipeline of programs for rare, severe chronic kidney diseases,” said Alan Glicklich, M.D., chief medical officer of Chinook. “Atrasentan has been studied in over 5,300 diabetic kidney disease patients in the phase 2 RADAR and phase 3 SONAR studies, demonstrating rapid, sustained proteinuria reductions of approximately 30 to 35 percent as well as improved eGFR. Importantly, treatment with atrasentan also resulted in a reduction in clinical outcomes of development of end-stage kidney disease and doubling of serum creatinine. We look forward to exploring the proteinuria-lowering, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects of atrasentan in patients with IgA nephropathy, a serious progressive disease for which there are no approved therapies.”

    • On March 1, Chinook and Evotec SE announced a strategic collaboration focused on the discovery and development of novel precision medicine therapies for patients with chronic kidney diseases. Based on Evotec’s proprietary comprehensive molecular datasets from thousands of patients across chronic kidney diseases of multiple underlying etiologies, Chinook and Evotec will jointly identify, characterize and validate novel mechanisms and discover precision medicines for PKD, lupus nephritis, IgA nephropathy and other primary glomerular diseases. The collaboration will also involve further characterization of pathways and patient stratification strategies for programs currently in Chinook’s clinical and preclinical pipeline. “We are excited to embark on this strategic collaboration with Evotec, the leading drug discovery alliance and development partner in nephrology,” said Andrew King, D.V.M., Ph.D., Head of Renal Discovery and Translational Medicine at Chinook. “Gaining access to the NURTuRE cohort study and other proprietary patient biobanks, along with Evotec’s multi-omics integration platform, will enable us to define the molecular drivers of kidney diseases, identify novel targets for drug development in selected patient sub-populations and continue to build the foundation for our precision medicine approach. With a focus on comprehensive molecular disease classification, combined with prospective clinical outcomes, Chinook has the opportunity to potentially deliver targeted therapies to the right patient populations.”
    • On Feb. 2nd, Chinook announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted rare pediatric disease designation for CHK-336, an investigational oral small molecule inhibitor of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) for primary hyperoxaluria (PH). PH is a group (PH1, PH2 and PH3) of ultra-rare genetic diseases caused by enzyme mutations that result in excess oxalate production in the liver, and in its most severe forms, can lead to end-stage kidney disease at a young age. Inhibition of LDHA with CHK-336 allows for the potential to treat all forms of PH and other disorders arising from excess oxalate, while its liver-targeted tissue distribution profile enables maximal inhibition of liver oxalate production with minimal systemic exposure. Please read the story here.
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  • Shares of Seattle-based Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, closed at $2.36.
    • On May 11, Atossa announce that it urges stockholders to vote on proposals put forth in the proxy statement prior to the Company’s May 14, 2021 annual stockholder meeting. Atossa stockholders as of the March 24, 2021 record date may vote by calling (833) 786-6488 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Details of the proposals, the stockholder meeting, and additional information on how to vote your shares can be found in the proxy statement, found here. Holders of approximately 17.3 million shares of Atossa common stock as of the record date have entered into lock-up and voting agreements which require that they vote at the annual stockholder meeting.
    • On April 8, Atossa announced that an ovarian cancer patient has begun treatment with Atossa’s proprietary oral Endoxifen. The FDA previously issued a “Safe to Proceed” letter under their expanded access pathway, permitting the use of Atossa’s oral Endoxifen in this patient. The patient is being treated at the University of Washington Medical Center by Dr. Barbara Goff, Surgeon-in-Chief. “The patient has recurrent ovarian cancer and did not tolerate tamoxifen, which is sometimes prescribed for ovarian cancer as well as breast cancer,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO. “The patient recently underwent functional molecular genomic testing using 3D tumor organoid cultures grown in the laboratory from the patient’s tumor to help determine potential therapies. This testing revealed that the combination of Endoxifen and alpelisib produced an exceptional tumor response. We will follow the progress of this patient and consider additional clinical studies in patients with ovarian cancer.” Under the FDA expanded access program, the use of Atossa’s proprietary oral Endoxifen is restricted solely to this patient.
    • On March 31, Atossa announced their financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and provided an update on recent company developments. Read the complete story. 
    • On March 22, Atossa  announced that it had entered into a securities purchase agreement with institutional investors to purchase $50 million of its shares of common stock and warrants in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. Read the complete story.  Atossa has now raised ~$141M in gross proceeds (via registered directs and warrant exercises) since Dec. 2020 affording the company a significant development runway and many more options to be considering including acquisitions. 
    • On March 11, Atossa announced the FDA has issued a “Safe to Proceed” letter under their Expanded Access Pathway, permitting the use of Atossa’s oral Endoxifen as a treatment in an ovarian cancer patient. The patient is being treated at the University of Washington Medical Center by Dr. Barbara Goff, Surgeon-in-Chief. Under the FDA expanded access program, the use of Atossa’s proprietary oral Endoxifen is restricted solely to this patient. Approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must be obtained prior to providing oral Endoxifen to this patient. Read the complete story.
    • On Feb. 25, Atossa announced final results from its Phase 1 double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301 administered by nasal spray. AT-301 was considered to be safe and well tolerated in healthy male and female participants in this study at two different dose levels over 14 days. AT-301 is being developed for at home use for patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently no FDA-approved therapies to treat COVID-19 at home. Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO stated, “The results from this study are very encouraging and we look forward to quickly commencing the next study of AT-301. We recently received input from the FDA on this program and based in part on that input, we are now preparing to conduct an additional pre-clinical study, which we expect to start this quarter. Following that, we expect to apply to the FDA to commence a Phase 2 study here in the United States.”
  •  


Economic Reports

  • On Monday, the macroeconomic schedule did produce anything significant. 
  • On Tuesday, the job openings report confirmed a rise to 8.123M in March & the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report for April also confirmed a rise to 99.8. 
  • On Wednesday, the CPI report surfaced confirming an .8% m/m rise in April. The Treasury Budget report for April confirmed a $225.6B deficit & the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report showed a 2.1% rise.
  • On Thursday, the PPI for final demand report confirmed a rise by .6% m/m. The index for final demand rose .7% m/m. For the week ending May 8 the initial jobless claims report confirmed a drop by 34k to 473k, while continuing claims for the week ending May 1 dropped by 45k to 3.655M.

Investing & Inspiration

  1. “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
  2. “I think you have to learn that there’s a company behind every stock and there’s only one real reason why stocks go up. Companies go from doing poorly to doing well or small companies grow to large companies.” – Peter Lynch
  3. “Historically, there has been a bull market in the commodities every 20 or 30 years.” – Jim Rogers
  4. “The markets generally are unpredictable, so that one has to have different scenarios. The idea that you can actually predict what’s going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.” – George Soros
  5. “Stop trying to predict the direction of the stock market, the economy or the elections.” – Warren Buffett
  6. “An important key to investing is to remember that stocks are not lottery tickets.” – Peter Lynch
  7. “Learn everyday, but especially from the experiences of others. It’s cheaper!” – John Bogle
  8. “When purchasing depressed stock in troubled companies, seek out the ones with the superior financial positions and avoid the ones with loads of bank debt.” – Peter Lynch
  9. “No stock price is too low for bears or too high for bulls.” – John F. Heerdink, Jr.
  10. “Investment is most successful when it is most businesslike.” – Ben Graham

  11. “Value stocks are about as exciting as watching grass grow, but have you ever noticed just how much your grass grows in a week?” – Christopher Browne

  12. “Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd.” – Benjamin Graham
  13. “Individual who cannot master their emotions are ill-suited to profit from the investment process.” – Benjamin Graham
  14. “I made my first investment at age eleven. I was wasting my life until then.” – Warren Buffet
  15. “I don’t look to jump over seven-foot bars; I look around for one-foot bars that I can step over.” — Warren Buffett
  16. “There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.” – Jack Welch, former CEO of GE
  17. “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble” ― Warren Buffett
  18. “If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” – Warren Buffet
  19. “How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” — Robert G. Allen
  20. “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price.” – Warren Buffett
  21. “A market downturn doesn’t bother us. It is an opportunity to increase our ownership of great companies with great management at good prices.” — Warren Buffett
  22. “Every once in a while, the market does something so stupid it takes your breath away.” — Jim Cramer
  23. “The person who starts simply with the idea of getting rich won’t succeed; you must have a larger ambition.” — John D. Rockefeller
  24. “Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch
  25. “Although it’s easy to forget sometimes, a share is not a lottery ticket… it’s part ownership of a business.” – Peter Lynch
  26. “Wise spending is part of wise investing. And it’s never too late to start.” – Rhonda Katz
  27. “Invest for the long haul. Don’t get too greedy and don’t get too scared.” – Shelby M.C. Davis

  28. “Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.”
    -Jeremy Siegel
  29. “With a good perspective on history, we can have a better understanding of the past and present, and thus a clear vision of the future.” — Carlos Slim Helu
  30. “If we like a business, we’re going to buy as much of it as we can and keep it as long as we can. And when we change our mind, we don’t take half measures.” – Warren Buffett
  31. “The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.” — Peter Thiel

  32. “Never depend on a single income, make an investment to create a second source.” Warren Buffet

  33. Games are won by players who focus on the playing field –- not by those whose eyes are glued to the scoreboard.”
    ― Warren Buffett
  34. “The key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.” – Peter Lynch
  35. “Courage taught me no matter how bad a crisis gets … any sound investment will eventually pay off.” — Carlos Slim Helu
  36. “Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.” – Grant Cardone
  37. “As time goes on, I get more and more convinced that the right method of investment is to put fairly large sums into enterprises which one thinks one knows something about and in the management of which one thoroughly believes.” — John Maynard Keynes
  38. “Given a 10% chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time.” — Jeff Bezos
  39. “Money is always eager and ready to work for anyone who is ready to employ it.” ― Idowu Koyenikan
  40. The secret to investing is to figure out the value of something – and then pay a lot less.” – Joel Greenblatt
  41. “We don’t have an analytical advantage, we just look in the right place.” – Seth Klarman
  42. “Men, it has been well said, think in herds. It will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.” – Charles Mackay
  43. “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” – George Soros
  44. “No Price is too low for a bear or too high for a bull.” — Anonymous
  45. “Investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future.” Anonymous
  46. “Behind every stock is a company. Find out what it’s doing.” — Peter Lynch
  47. “Wise spending is part of wise investing. And it’s never too late to start.” –Rhonda Katz
  48. “It amazes me how people are often more willing to act based on little or no data than to use data that is a challenge to assemble.” ― Robert Shiller
  49. “A bull market is like sex. It feels best just before it ends.” — Barton Biggs
  50. “The investor’s chief problem — even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself.” — Benjamin Graham
  51. “No profession requires more hard work, intelligence, patience, and mental discipline than successful speculation.” – Robert Rhea
  52. “Money is like a sixth sense – and you can’t make use of the other five without it.” – William Somerset Maugham
  53. “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” — Albert Einstein
  54. “Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results” — Warren Buffett
  55. “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” – Warren Buffett
  56. “Thousands of experts study overbought indicators, head-and-shoulder patterns, put-call ratios, the Fed’s policy on money supply…and they can’t predict markets with any useful consistency, any more than the gizzard squeezers could tell the Roman emperors when the Huns would attack.” – Peter Lynch
  57. “Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.” – Grant Cardone
  58. “You cannot save time for your future use however you can invest time for your future.” – John F. Heerdink, Jr. 
  59. “Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch
  60. “Liquidity is only there when you don’t need it.” -Old Proverb
  61. “If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.” – Richard Branson
  62. “Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.” – Jeremy Siegel
  63. “In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott
  64. “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.” – Charlie Munger
  65. “The entrance strategy is actually more important than the exit strategy.” – Edward Lampert
  66. “The rivers don’t drink their own water; Trees don’t eat their own fruits. The sun does not shine for itself, And flowers do not spread their fragrance For themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature” – Pope Francis
  67. “It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority.” – John Templeton
  68. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin.
  69. I believe the returns on investment in the poor are just as exciting as successes achieved in the business arena, and they are even more meaningful!” -Bill Gates
  70. “Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.” – Suze Orman
  71. “The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility, and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy
  72. “If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. -George Bernard Shaw
  73. “There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.”-Ed Seykota
  74. “Let this scenario play out on its own, in its own fashion. As you watch it unfold, you will soon be grateful that you choose the peaceful path. Remember — those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”
  75. “As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” -Jim Cramer
  76. “I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” -Mark Cuban
  77. Michael Marcus taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgment, being wrong, making your next best judgment, being wrong, making your third best judgment, and then doubling your money.” -Bruce Kovner
  78. “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru
  79. “The only true test of whether a stock is “cheap” or “high” is not its current price in relation to some former price, no matter how accustomed we may have become to that former price, but whether the company’s fundamentals are significantly more or less favorable than the current financial-community appraisal of that stock.” -Philip Fisher
  80. “I learned to avoid trying to catch up or double up to recoup losses. I also learned that a certain amount of loss will affect your judgment, so you have to put some time between that loss and the next trade.” -Richard Dennis
  81. “The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.” -Sir John Templeton
  82. “Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Videos

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