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Bank Anxieties, Gold & Nasdaq Values Jump While Interest Rates Drop Sharply This Week – $AAPL $ARKK $AG $ATOS $ILMN $INTC $MSFT $TSLA $XBI Rise!

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.
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Quote of the Day:  “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” – John Boyle O’Reilly


Happy Saturday!

I hope that you had a magnificent week and managed to lock in gains across your accounts.

As for the broad markets this week, stocks saw increased volatility as the banking sector showed cracks with the failure of SVB or Silicon Valley Bank &  Signature Bank, while 11 banks had to commit $30B in deposits to First Republic Bank (FRC, $23.03, -71.83% over the last 5-days) to stave of another. A joint statement from the Federal Reserve, Treasury,& FDIC also confirmed that all deposits in the first 2 failures would be fully protected, but that has not seemed to calm the nerves of investors, etc as systemic worries persist. In addition, banks proceeded to borrow $11.9B from the Bank Term Funding Program & a whopping $153B from the Fed’s discount window. 

A mixed bag of macroeconomic reports also surfaced that has not convinced all that the inflation battle has been won in the US, thus leaving the door open for the Fed to raise rates next week with they meet on March 20-21. The ECB also raised rates 50bps this week. On Tuesday, the Total CPI report came in up .4% M/M in February & was up 6% Y/Y, while the Core CPI was also up .5% M/M & up 5.5% Y/Y. The February NFIB Small Business Optimism Index also clocked in at 90.9. On Wednesday, the Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index report came in lower at 6.5%. The March Empire State Manufacturing was at -24.6. The February Retail Sales report came in at -.4%. the February PPI came in at -.1%, while the February Core PPI was flat. The January Business Inventories report came in at -.1%. The March NAHB Housing Market Index came slightly higher at 44. On Thursday, the Weekly Initial Claims report came in lower at 192K & the Weekly Continuing Claims report that confirmed 1.684M also lower. The February Housing Starts report clocked in at 1.45M, while February Building Permits came in at 1.524M. The March Philadelphia Fed Index came in lower at -23.2. The February Import Prices report was at -.1% & the February Export Prices came in at .2%. On Friday, the Total industrial production report came in flat M/M in February. The Leading Indicators report showed .3% drop in February. The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report for March also dropped to 63.4.  Interestingly, at the close of Friday, the 2-yr note yield had cascaded another 72bps to close at 3.82% & the 10-yr note yield closed 30 basis points lower at 3.40%. Many believe now that the Fed may need to alter their recently hard charge towards raising interest rates. The U.S. Dollar Index also moved lower this week down from last Friday’s close of 104.64 to 103.86. Oil prices dropped a whopping 13.7% to close at $66.17/bbl and is now down 17.6% YTD.

At the end of the week, the S&P 500 closed at 3,916.64 (+1.4%) for the week and is now up 2% YTD. The communication services sector’s 6.9% jump & the information technology sector’s 5.7% move led all sectors. The 6.82% weighting of the shares of Apple (AAPL) provided relative strength again this week as it closed at $155, +4.38% over the last 5-days as did the influential shares of EV giant Tesla (TSLA) that closed at $180.13, moving up 3.86% over the course of the week. 

The Dow 30 fell to close at 31,861.90 (-.1%) and is now down 3.9% YTD.  The Walt Disney Company (DIS) closed at $93.20, -.40% over the last 5-days. Nike (NKE) closed at $120.39, up 2.47% over the last 5-days & plans to release its Q3 fiscal 2023 financial results on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.  

Through it all, the Nasdaq experienced an overwhelmingly positive swing and closed the week at 11,630.50 (+4.4%) for the week and is up 11.1% YTD. Alphabet (GOOG), NVIDIA (NVDA), & Microsoft (MSFT) rose significantly this week, while the company formerly known as Facebook, Meta Platforms (META) closed at $195.61, up a more than respectable 8.97% after their announcement pertaining to their plans to cut another 10k employees, while closing an additional 5k open positions to cut costs as their advertising revenues have suffered and they are reportedly focusing on AI as well as the the metaverse. 

The small caps on the Russell 2000 got hit again and closed at 1,725.89 (-2.6%) for the week & is now down 2% YTD. The MicroCaps also took a solid hit this week as the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) closed at $102.13 falling 3.59% this week & is now down 5.29% YTD.  

Biotech stocks moved up overall this week. On the larger side of things, the Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) moved up and closed at $124.50, +2.07% and is down 5.17% YTD, the NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 5,105.47, +.96% over the last 5-days and is now down 3.33% YTD, & the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed at $76.50, up 1.11% over the last 5-days & is now down 7.83% YTD. The 52-week range is is now $61.78-$97.19.


Biotech stocks, on the lower end of the spectrum, moved significantly higher today as the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed up 2.91% to close at $77.86. The 52-wk range is $61.78 – $97.19. On the larger side of the biotech market The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) moved higher to close at $125.37, +2.79%. The 52-range is $104.29 – $138.74. Driving values higher in their sector this, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Seagen, a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines, for $229 in cash per Seagen share for a total enterprise value of $43 billion. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Also, out of the biotech sector, Sanofi (SNY,) & Provention Bio, Inc. (PRVB), a U.S.-based, publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on intercepting and preventing immune-mediated diseases including type 1 diabetes (T1D), announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Sanofi has agreed to acquire Provention Bio, Inc., for $25/share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $2.9 billion. Carl Icahn also aimed a proxy battle at Illumina (ILMN) and shares drove higher. Illumina, a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, confirmed that it has received notice from Icahn Partners LP and certain of its affiliates of their intention to nominate 3 candidates—2 current Icahn employees, Jesse Lynn and Andrew Teno, and one former Icahn employee, Vincent Intrieri—for election to the Board of Directors at Illumina’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) closed at $264.97,+1.65% over the last 5-days and is now down 6.61% YTD. 

The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) closed at $25,76,+2.86% over the last 5-days.

FURTHER AFIELD 


On Feb. 28, Desmond Wheatley, CEO Beam Global (BEEM, $14.92, +3.83% over last 5-days), the leading provider of innovative sustainable products and technologies for electric vehicle (EV) charging, energy storage, energy security and outdoor media, presented at our sister organization’s Tribe Public Webinar Presentation and Q&A Event titled “Sustainable Products Solving EVs’ Biggest Challenges.”  The event video is gaining traction at the Tribe Public YouTube Channel with over 5.4k views and is available now for viewing at this link. 



Shares of JPMorgan (JPM) closed at $125.81, down 5.87% over the last 5-days.  On March 16, eleven banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Wells Fargo announced a total deposit of $30 Billion into First Republic (FRC.). 

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) closed $98.95, +9.06% over the last 5-days. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated a Buy rating on Amazon.


Shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) closed at $279.43, +12.41% over the last 5-days. On March 17, Microsoft announced that they are bringing the power of next-generation AI to its workplace productivity tools with Microsoft 365 Copilot. On March 10, Microsoft Corp. and Boosteroid announced a 10-year agreement to bring Xbox PC games to Boosteroid’s cloud gaming platform. Boosteroid, which has its software development team in Ukraine, recently surpassed 4 million users globally and has become the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world. The agreement will also enable Activision Blizzard PC titles to be streamed by Boosteroid customers after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes.

Shares of Intel (INTC) rose 9.52% to close at $29.81 over the last 5-days. On March 16, Susquehanna upgraded Intel to a neutral rating from a negative rating. 

Shares of NVIDIA (NVDA), a pioneer in accelerated computing, closed at $257.25, +12.02% over the last 5-days.  On March 16, ahead of next week’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), NVIDIA announced an expanded game roster and new developer plug-ins for NVIDIA DLSS 3.The latest version of NVIDIA’s AI-powered Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology is now supported in an assortment of blockbuster games and franchises, and being integrated into Unreal Engine, one of the world’s most popular game engines. The company is also publicly releasing the DLSS Frame Generation plug-in to further ease developer adoption of the technology.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) closed at $38.68, +7.38% over the last 5-days.  

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) closed at $143.46, +5.66% over the last 5-days. 

Shares of McDonald’s (MCD) closed at $267.20, +1.97% over the last 5-days. On March 15, McDonald’s USA announced a new Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Tabassum Zalotrawala.


GOLD & SILVER JUMP!

With the banking system in question, gold prices closed at $2,001/oz., +$132/oz. & silver prices closed at $22.72/oz., +$2.16/oz. for the week.

Hecla Mining (HL) closed at $5.59, +8.12% over the last 5-days. On March 1, Hecla announced that the Company received the 2022 Robert E. Murray Innovation Award for pioneering the Underhand Closed Bench (UCB) mining method at its Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho. The award, given by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration (SME), recognizes operations and organizations that implement cutting-edge technologies and innovative processes to advance the mining industry.

First Majestic (AG) closed at $7.32, +20% over the last 5-days. First Majestic announced the consolidated financial results for the Company’s fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. The full version of the financial statements and the management discussion and analysis can be viewed on the Company’s website at www.firstmajestic.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. They highlighted a record production of 31.3 million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 10.5 million silver ounces and 248,394 gold ounces, or a 16% increase compared to 2021.


MEMES CENTRAL

AMC Entertainment (AMC) closed at $4.18, -22.30% & (APE) closed at $1.30, -18.24% over the last 5-days this week as the ‘APE’ shares conversion was approved by shareholders.

GameStop (GME) closed at $16.60, -3.77% over the last 5-days as the shorts won overall this week. GME will report fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2022 results after the market closes on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. The Company will host an investor conference call at 5:00 pm ET on the same day to review its results. This call and all supplemental information can be accessed on GameStop’s investor relations website: https://investor.gamestop.com/. 

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (SHIP) closed at $5.47, -13.31% over the last 5-days. On March 14, Seanergy announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022. The Company also declared a quarterly dividend of $.025 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022. Total buybacks of common shares and convertible securities of $35.5 million since December 2021.



CRYPTO & BITCOIN

Bitcoin (BTC) closed at $27,431.03, +10.85% over the last 5-days at the time this report was prepared. 


ENERGY

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund or ETF (XLE) closed at $76.97, -6.85% over the last 5-days. 

Chevron (CVX) closed at $152.34, -4.59% over the last 5-days. On March 14, Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA), Bunge (NYSE:BG) and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron, announced today a commercial collaboration to introduce proprietary winter canola hybrids that produce plant-based oil with a lower carbon profile. The goal is to increase the availability of vegetable oil feedstocks primarily for the growing domestic renewable fuels market. The companies plan to introduce the winter canola crop into the southern United States with an intention to create a new revenue opportunity for farmers with a sustainable crop rotation. The proprietary winter canola hybrids from Corteva can be used in a double crop system, following soybeans or cotton. “We’re pleased to work with Bunge and Chevron to bring a new option in the southern U.S. that will deliver solutions for farmers to increase productivity and sustainability on their acres, as well as contribute to the need for renewable and less carbon-intensive fuel options,” said Chuck Magro, CEO, Corteva Agriscience.

Warren Buffet’s pick in the sector, Occidental Petroleum (OXY) closed at $58.48, -2.31% over the last 5-days. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) reported has acquired more shares in Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE: OXY),boosting ownership to 23.1%.

Oil prices dropped a whopping 13.7% to close at $66.17/bbl and is now down 17.6% YTD.



NEXT WEEK



The stock market will be open for 5 full trading sessions and we will receive the CPI index report and the retail sales numbers.

VP WATCHLIST UPDATES

Please review a select group of emerging names below and their updates below:

 
 
 
Shares of ADT Inc. (ADT), the most trusted brand in smart home and small business security, closed at $6.94, -5.45% over the last 5-days.

On March 17, ADT announced a plan to pay down $200 million in debt using cash on hand. Of the total, $150 million will be achieved through a partial redemption of the $750 million ADT First-Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2024 and $50 million will be achieved upon the maturity of our ADT Notes due 2023. As previously announced, the ADT Notes due 2023 have been partially redeemed with $600 million from our Term Loan A Facility and we expect to use an additional $50 million from this facility together with $50 million in cash to pay down the remaining balance.“This substantial paydown accelerates ADT toward our goal of using our strong cash generation to reduce net debt by $1 billion by year-end 2025, versus year-end 2021,” said Ken Porpora, ADT Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

On Feb. 28, ADT reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2022. ADT further highlighted the following: Continued strong sequential and year-over-year growth in revenue, up 21% for full year 2022 versus prior year, Fourth consecutive quarter of record high customer retention and recurring monthly revenue balance, Improving capital efficiency with record revenue payback, & driving momentum into 2023 with expected continued growth in revenue, earnings and cash flows. 
 
 
 
 
  • 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 $.69, up 2.99% over the last 5-days and is up 30.19% YTD.

 

    • On Feb. 23, Atossa announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 2 EVANGELINE (Endoxifen Versus exemestANe GosEreLIn) study. 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. Participants 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. The primary objective of the EVANGELINE study is to evaluate the endocrine sensitive disease (ESD) rate, measured by Ki-67 (a proliferation marker prognostic for disease free survival), after four weeks of treatment with (Z)-endoxifen compared to treatment with current standard of care, exemestane plus goserelin. Exemestane is an aromatase inhibitor designed to block the synthesis of estrogen and slow the growth of ER+ cancers. Goserelin is a medication given to block the ovaries from making estrogen, also called ovarian function suppression (OFS). In premenopausal women, OFS is associated with significant morbidity and inadequate compliance, which compromises efficacy and increases the risk of mortality.

      (Z)-endoxifen is the most active anti-estrogen metabolite of tamoxifen that potently blocks ERa and binds to and disrupts protein kinase C beta one function (PKCb1, a known oncogenic protein). In an earlier Phase 2 study, treatment with (Z)-endoxifen resulted in a 65.1% reduction in Ki-67. This is potentially clinically meaningful because numerous studies by other groups have shown that reducing Ki-67 is prognostic for 5-year disease free survival. (Z)-endoxifen administered as monotherapy may also obviate the need for OFS in premenopausal women and potentially reduce breast cancer cell proliferation.

      Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We are excited to kick-off this important trial, a significant achievement in our development strategy. Approximately 78% of breast cancers are ER+ / HER2- and premenopausal women diagnosed with this disease need more effective and tolerable treatment options; specifically new treatments that do not require ovarian function suppression. We feel (Z)-endoxifen has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for these patients.” LEARN MORE. 

    • On Feb. 13, Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative proprietary medicines to address significant unmet need in cancer, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a new patent (No. 11,572,334) directed to (Z)-endoxifen encapsulated in an enteric capsule. Enteric capsules have an acid resistant coating to prevent them from dissolving when they pass through the stomach. Enteric capsules are dissolved when they pass through an alkaline environment, which is usually when they reach the small intestine. Delivering oral (Z)-endoxifen via an enteric capsule prevents breakdown of the endoxifen in the stomach. This patent further reinforces Atossa’s broad Intellectual Property portfolio related to (Z)-endoxifen. A short ‘explainer’ video about the new patent can be found here: https://youtu.be/MrcEYp4Pptc. Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We are very pleased with the scope and breadth of this new key patent. It ensures that in the U.S., Atossa will have the only (Z)-endoxifen treatment delivered orally with an enteric capsule, which we believe is the optimal way to deliver the drug. This new patent, further strengthens our intellectual property estate and should create long-term stockholder value. There are a number of research-level medical applications of endoxifen outside of breast cancer, including in bipolar disorder disease in adults and in modulating genetically modified, cell-based therapies for cancer and immune diseases, that may require access to our endoxifen patents and technologies. Atossa will monitor these activities carefully as they approach commercialization, with an eye to establishing appropriate licensing arrangements for the benefit of Atossa shareholders.”

  • 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 $.5403 and is up 27.43% YTD.  The 52-wk range is $.3290 – $2.837.
  • On Jan. 5, INVO Bioscience announced it has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with Ming Mei Technology Co. Ltd (“Ming Mei”) for Taiwan. The agreement will have an initial 1-year term with renewals. Ming Mei is a leading distributor of fertility-based devices and components in Taiwan helping to bring the latest and most advanced medical equipment into the region. Ming Mei estimates it has approximately 90% coverage of reagents and consumables in the reproductive medicine market in Taiwan. With strong customer relationships in the region, and their familiarity with the field of reproductive medicine, Ming Mei is ideally suited to expand distribution of INVOcell in Taiwan. Taiwan is a destination for assisted reproductive technology (ART) throughout Asia and also has the lowest birthrate in the world. Taiwan’s birth rate has dropped as a result of similar trends elsewhere in Asia, such as later marriage and increasing cost of living. Further, the average age of patients requiring therapy is rising. Fortunately, according to the statistics published by “ICMART”, the overall implantation rate of therapy in Taiwan ranked second worldwide, almost equal to the level in the U.S., and a leading country in Asia. The stable high success rate derives from updated medical research and enriched clinical experience from the physicians, advanced laboratory facilities and technology as well as patient-centered customized treatment plans (depending on their age, ovarian functions and causes of infertility, etc.). Prior to the pandemic, in 2019 there were approximately 55,000 ART cases in Taiwan, an increase of approximately 55% compared to 2016. In July 2021, the government in Taiwan implemented a subsidy plan for ART with the goal of encouraging more local married couples to undergo ART treatments. The subsidies are also available to transnational couples in which one spouse holds a Taiwanese ID card.


READ our recently published story that is gaining traction titled “INVO Bioscience (NASDAQ: $INVO), A Company Seeking To Address A Massively Underserved Fertility Market.”


    • On Nov. 30, INVO announced the birth of the first baby in Malaysia utilizing the INVOcell solution. The healthy baby boy weighed 3.53 kg and was born on November 11, 2022 at Tuanku Mizan Military Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Physicians at Advanced Reproductive Centre (ARC), at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), at the National University of Malaysia conducted the IVC procedure. The patient was part of a prospective peer reviewed study of INVOcell compared to conventional IVF (“cIVF”) that took place at ARC at HCTM. The study, titled “Comparison of Treatment Outcomes among Sibling Oocytes Using Different Culture Systems—Conventional IVF versus INVOcell Device—And Evaluation of INVOcell User Satisfaction: The INVOcIVF Study,” was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have been a part of this family’s journey towards parenthood,” commented Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience. “The INVOcell solution is playing a key role in providing families across the world an alternative method to parenthood by leveraging its innovative medical device to allow fertilization and early embryo development to take place in vivo within the woman’s body; an approach that provides for affordable, high-quality, patient-centered fertility care.” Key findings of the study included:

      • The fertilization rate and good embryo quality were comparable (not significantly different) between INVOcell and cIVF.
      • Although both methods produce similar fertilization rates and good-quality embryos, the blastulation rates were better in the INVOcell group.
      • INVOcell can be used as an alternative method for reproductive treatment in carefully selected patients without jeopardizing outcomes.
      • cIVF is costly and not applicable in most rural and district areas, therefore, the INVOcell can be utilized as a cost-effective alternative to cIVF without sacrificing comfort and outcomes.


    •  On Feb. 27, Chinook reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 and provided corporate updates. Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics, stated  “During 2022, we made excellent progress across our pipeline, including driving strong enrollment of our phase 3 ALIGN, phase 2 AFFINITY and phase 1/2 BION-1301 clinical trials, generating compelling clinical data from our atrasentan and BION-1301 programs for IgA nephropathy (IgAN), initiating our phase 1 clinical trial of CHK-336 in healthy volunteers and continuing to advance our preclinical programs for rare, severe chronic kidney diseases. Our mission at Chinook is to change the course of kidney care by developing therapies that make dialysis and transplant unnecessary for patients living with kidney disease. With our strong financial position and growing team, we look forward to an exciting 2023 when we will be presenting data from all three of our clinical programs at medical conferences, commencing a phase 3 study of BION-1301 in patients with IgAN mid-year and reporting topline proteinuria data from the ongoing phase 3 ALIGN study of atrasentan.”



  • Borqs Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: BRQS, $.232, a global provider of 5G wireless solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and innovative clean energy, recently provided the following updates on the Company.


Shares of InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INM), a leader in the research, development and manufacturing of rare cannabinoids, closed at $1.05 and was up to $1.10 in the aftermarket.




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 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.”


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 this year!

Investing & Inspiration

  1. “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” – John Boyle O’Reilly
  2. “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
  3. “Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” – Boris Pasternak
  4. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
  5. “It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
  6. “Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.” – Meister Eckhart
  7. “Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.” – Leo Buscaglia
  8. “Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar.” – Wordsworth
  9. “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
  10. “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” – Tecumseh
  11. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  12. “There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
  13. “The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
  14. “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
  15. “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
  16. “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
  17. “No man was ever wise by chance.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  18. “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
  19. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  33. “Without labor nothing prospers.” – Sophocles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  44. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
  45. “Inflation destroys savings, impedes planning, and discourages investment. That means less productivity and a lower standard of living.” – Kevin Brady
  46. “If we give something positive to others, it will return to us. If we give negative, that negativity will be returned.” – Allu Arjun
  47. “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” ~ George S. Patton
  48. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
  49. “Success is dependent on effort.” – Sophocles
  50. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
  51. “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
  52. “And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.” – Black Elk
  53. “Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” – Joseph Hall
  54. “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
  55. “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” – Clint Eastwood
  56. “We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” – Ray Bradbury
  57. “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
  58. “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” – Robert H. Schuller
  59. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
  60. “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell
  61. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha”
  62. Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” –  Boris Pasternak
  63. “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran 
  64. “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
  65. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  66. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” –  Colin Powell
  67. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  68. “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
  69. “Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” – W. Clement Stone
  70. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
  71. “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
  72. “Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
  73. “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry Kissinger
  74. “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” – Oliver Goldsmith
  75. “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
  76. “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
  77. “Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” – Rumi
  78. “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
  79. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
  80. “Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” – Nelson Mandela
  81. “The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.” – John Maynard Keynes
  82. “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
  83. “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
  84. “It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
  85. “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming
  86. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
  87. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
  88. “Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.” – Muhtar Kent
  89. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Abraham Lincoln
  90. “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
  91. “Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” – Donna Karan
  92. “It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things progress.” – Nathan Chen
  93. “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
  94. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
  95. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
  96. “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
  97. “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
  98. “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
  99. “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
  100. “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
  101. “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
  102. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
  103. “But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion.” – Bill Nye
  104. “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
  105. “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” – Charlie Chaplin
  106. “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
  107. “Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions.” – Oren Etzioni
  108. “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
  109. “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu
  110. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  111. “Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.” – Franz Liszt
  112. “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
  113. “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
  114. “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
  115. “There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
  116. “In tennis, you strike a ball just after the rebound for the fastest return. It’s the same with investment.” – Masayoshi Son
  117. “A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane.” – Jackie Kennedy
  118. “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
  119. “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius, Chinese 
  120. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
  121. “Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”– Albert Einstein
  122. “Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” – Ed Markey
  123. “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
  124. “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
  125. “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
  126. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
  127. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” – Elie Wiesel
  128. “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
  129. “Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
  130. “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch 
  131. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”– Arthur Ashe
  132. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
  133. “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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