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‘Sideways To Partly Cloudy Skies’ For Large Caps This Week But Micros Find Bids Again

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.
Sideways To Partly Cloudy Skies


“No stock price is too low for bears or too high for bulls.” –  John F. Heerdink, Jr.


Happy Saturday All!

I hope that all of you have made significant progress in the markets again this week & that you are out enjoying a wonderful weekend where it may take you.

This week, we saw new record highs achieved on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, but it was also a week that volatility appeared and the large cap indices ended in the red across the board by Friday. The Dow 30 closed at 33,874.85, -.5%/wk, +10.7% YTD & the S&P 500 closed at 4,181.17 & flat on the week but remains up an impressive +11.3% YTD. The Nasdaq closed at 13,962.68, -.4%/wk, +11.3% YTD & the smalls on the Russell 2000 also ticked lower 2,266.45, -.2%/wk, +14.8% YTD. However, the micro caps were a different story, as they widely continued to find bids as many issues legged forward i.e. VP Watchlist stocks Atossa Therapeutics (ATOS) & Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY), by double digit percentage gains in some cases, and follow-on equity offerings continued to be completed supporting other growth initiatives any many cases.

The earnings season also continued to press forward. Many household names reported better than expected results including representatives from the FAANGS i.e. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) Alphabet (GOOG) & Facebook (FB). However, the FAANG’s stock performance ended mixed as follows: Apple (AAPL) shares closed at $131.46 down ~$3 from last Friday’s close of $134.32, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $3,467.42 up ~$126 from last Friday’s close of $3,340.88, Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $2,410.12 up ~$94/share from last Friday’s close of $2,315.30, Facebook (FB) closed at $324.90 up ~$23/share from last Friday’s close of $301.13 & Netflix (NFLX) regained form and closed at $513.47 up ~$8/share from last Friday’s close of $505.55/share.  

Leading EV car maker Tesla (TSLA) also beat expectations, but moved lower again this week to close at $709.44 & down ~$20/share from the $729.40 close. Tesla reported their Q1 after the close Monday which confirmed that they produced just over 180,000 vehicles and delivered nearly 185,000 vehicles. They were reportedly, encouraged by the strong reception of the Model Y in China and represented that they are quickly progressing to full production capacity. 

THE MACRO, BIDEN BUCKS, & RATES

The macroeconomic reports schedule continued to confirm overall improvement powered, in part, by the massive stimulus package and low historic rates. On Monday, the macroeconomic schedule produced the total durable goods orders report which confirmed a .5% m/m move up in March. On Tuesday, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index report moved up to 121.7 in April. The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index report rose 11.9% y/y in February. The FHFA Housing Price Index moved up .9% month/month in February. On Wednesday, the Advance report for International Trade in Goods for March confirmed an increased deficit of $90.6B. The Advance report for Retail Inventories for March confirmed a 1.4% drop & the Advance report for Wholesale Inventories for March rose 1.4%. The MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 2.5%. The Fed also kept interest rates level & their $120B asset purchases/month program in place.  On Thursday, the advance Q1 GDP report confirmed that economic output is rising at a 6.4% annualized rate while real final sales of domestic product jumped 9.2%. The GDP Price Deflator moved up 4.1%. The Initial jobless claims report for the week ending April 24 confirmed a drop by 13k to 553k while continuing claims for the week ending April 17 rose by 9k to 3.66M. The Pending home sales report confirmed a rise by 1.9% in March. On Friday, the Personal income report confirmed massive jump 21.1% m/m in March while personal spending moved up a respectable 4.2%.  The PCE Price Index moved up .5% now 2.3% y/y
The final April reading for the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment report confirmed a rise to 88.3 & the final reading for March was 84.9. The Q1 Employment Cost Index report showed a rise by .9% Wages and salaries moved up 1%. The Chicago PMI moved up to 72.1 in April.

Fed Chair Powell & the Fed kept true to their current position leaving interest rates level & their $120B asset purchases/month program in place, while acknowledging, but still downplaying, inflation risks pointing to the fact that ~8M are still unemployed compared to the same period before the pandemic.

The yield curve widened this week as the 10-yr yield rose 6 basis points to 1.63, while the 2-yr settled 1 basis point higher wk/wk at .16%. The U.S. Dollar Index ticked higher from 92.17 to 92.27.

President Biden revealed yet another round of stimulus measures or ‘Biden Bucks’ via his American Families Plan, another massive $1.8T program aimed on child care, education and paid-leave programs & which is proposed to be funded by tax hikes on the ‘wealthy’ or households making over $1/yr. I would suggest that their is a good chance that this bill, along with the proposed American Jobs Plan that is aimed at infrastructure, will both need to be approved by both houses and may change substantially prior to this be implemented. Also,  the initial proposals that include a 28% corporate tax rate and/or a 39.6% capital gains rate will likely be adjusted prior to approval, but we will see. 



VISTA STORIES FROM THE DOW 30

Former Coca Cola (KO) & Uber (UBER) Global Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Messina Joins INVO Bioscience’s (NASDAQ: INVO) Board

Merck Partners With Indian Generic Drugmakers For COVID-19 Drug Production & Access To Molnupiravi

IBM Reports Increase In Quarterly Cash Dividend

Apple Surpasses Earning Estimates – Reports 54% Revenue Increase

Microsoft Reports Earnings

Honeywell BOD Declares Quarterly Dividend

Disney’s Searchlight Pictures Wins Best Picture Trophy

BIOTECH EDGES HIGHER

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) closed at $154.64 down ~1.5 points from last week’s close of $155.31. The NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 5,612.41 down ~18 points from last week’s close of 5,630.44. 

Former Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Cellular Therapy Development VP Appointed As Chief Medical Officer of NKcell Focused Cytovia Therapeutics

GOLD & SILVER MARKETS MOVE HIGHER

Gold prices closed at $1,771, down $8 from the $1,779 close last week. This Friday silver prices closed at $25.98/oz. down $.10 from the $26.08/oz. close last Friday. Hecla Mining (HL) closed at $5.91 down $.46 from $6.37 last Friday’s close. 

TRADING, EARNINGS & REPORTS NEXT WEEK 

We are back to 5-trading sessions again next week, more earnings reports will roll out, & we will receive the personal income and expenditure reports, GDP, & the inflation deflator report.



 
VP WATCHLIST UPDATES 
Please review our complete VP Watchlist here that includes a brief list of highlighted companies that includes Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), Tesla (TSLA) & a select group of emerging names.  The pages will allow you to learn more and keep up with these companies daily.
Below are updates for five of the emerging companies from the VP Watchlist. 

  • Shares of Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases, closed at $17.95 significantly up from last week’s $14.75. Chinook is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering, developing and commercializing precision medicines for rare, severe chronic kidney diseases, a severe and growing worldwide problem with a lack of effective treatments often leading to dialysis, transplantation, and high costs to health care systems. In the U.S. alone, kidney diseases affect an estimated 37 million people and account for over $120 billion in annual costs. 
    • 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 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 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.”
    • Recently, 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.
    • Chinook has well-funded development programs with participation in a $115 million private placement financing concurrent with the close of a merger with Aduro Biotech in Q4 2020 from top-tier healthcare investors including, EcoR1 Capital, OrbiMed Advisors, funds managed by Rock Springs Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC, Avidity Partners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Ally Bridge Group, Monashee Investment Management LLC, Northleaf Capital Partners, Janus Henderson Investors, Sphera Biotech and others.


  • Shares of Natural-Killer cell (NKcell) focused biopharmaceutical firm Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed at $87.39 & up from last Friday’s close of $85.34. 
    • FATE will host a conference call and live audio webcast on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET to report its first quarter 2021 financial results and provide a corporate update. In order to participate in the conference call, please dial 800-708-4539 (toll free) or 847-619-6396 (toll) and refer to confirmation number 50156207. The live webcast can be accessed under “Events & Presentations” in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.fatetherapeutics.com.

    • 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, Daniel D. Shoemaker, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, 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.
    • Fate announced that the Company will host a conference call and live audio webcast on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET to report its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results and provide a corporate update. Learn more here. 
    • Recently, Fate presented a patient case study from the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of FT596, its universal, off-the-shelf, CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell product candidate, at the 62nd Annual Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition and the street loved it. NK cells are the body’s first line of defense against viral infections and cancerous cells with an innate ability to rapidly seek and destroy transformed cells. NK cell therapy has the potential to 1) target multiple pathogenic antigens with measurably more efficient cytotoxicity, 2) be better controlled to reduce risk of cytokine storms and 3) be produced from a variety of sources without relying on patient-specific immune cells. Dr. Wayne Chu, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development of Fate Therapeutics stated, “The safety, pharmacokinetics and clinical activity observed following both the first and second single-dose treatment cycles of FT596 are compelling, especially when considering that the administered cell dose was significantly lower than the recommended cell dose of FDA-approved autologous CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapies and that the heavily pre-treated patient was refractory to last prior therapy. We are excited the CAR component of FT596 has shown clinical activity at this low dose level, and we continue to enroll patients in dose escalation with FT596 as a monotherapy and in combination with rituximab. Our recent Phase 1 clinical data with FT516 in combination with rituximab, which demonstrate the potential of our novel hnCD16 Fc receptor to potentiate ADCC and drive complete responses, support our belief that the multi-antigen targeting functionality of FT596 may offer best-in-class potential for patients with B-cell malignancies.” 
    • We have made another investment in a private company called Cytovia Therapeutics that owns its own NK cell platform that some investors are calling “FATE 2.0”. They are seeking to go public next year in Q2/Q3 2021. Their website is www.cytoviatx.com.


  • 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 with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, closed at $2.33 & up significantly from last Friday’s closes of $1.77/share close last Friday and is trading 15.79M shares a day.
    • April 30, 2021  Atossa announced that Atossa CEO Dr. Steven Quay will participate in a panel discussion at Cello Health’s Cancer Progress Virtual Conference on May 6, 2021 at 10:00 AM ET. The conference will be conducted from May 4-6, 2021. The panel is titled, “Investing in the Emerald City of Oncology Innovation: Platforms & Modalities & Targets, Oh My!” and also features speakers from multiple well-known venture investment funds. For those interested in attending the conference, registration can can be found here.

    • 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 Monday, 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 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. 
    • Recently , 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.
    • Recently 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.” Learn more here.
    • Atossa recently announced updated findings following 26 months of Expanded Access (or “compassionate use”) single-patient studies of Atossa’s Endoxifen. “To date, the patient has not had a recurrence of breast cancer, as assessed by clinical breast examination and mammography; has not had treatment-related changes in periodic laboratory blood tests and general clinical examinations; and, the treatment has been well tolerated, including an absence of typical vasomotor symptoms commonly associated with tamoxifen (for example, night sweats and hot flashes), an FDA-approved drug frequently prescribed for breast cancer treatment,” commented Sidney Goldblatt, M.D., Principal Investigator. “This patient, like many breast cancer patients, was reluctant to take tamoxifen because of the well-documented side effects associated with that drug and because she lacked the proper liver enzymes to properly metabolize tamoxifen. We are very encouraged by this patient’s experience with our Endoxifen over the past two years. Her experience serves as a model for ongoing development efforts,” commented Steve Quay, Ph.D., M.D., Atossa’s President and CEO.
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  • Shares of  INVO Bioscience, Inc. (INVO), 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, closed at $4.11 down from the close of $4.32/share last Friday. 
    • 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.
    • April 22,  INVO announced that it has joined in supporting RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, a non-profit action-based, infertility and family building advocacy organization who strive for increased access to all family building options. RESOLVE is currently hosting their National Infertility Awareness Week, from April 18 to April 24 (#NIAW2021). “We are excited to be supporting RESOLVE’s mission to ensure that all people challenged in their family building journey reach resolution through being empowered by knowledge, supported by community, united by advocacy, and inspired to act. We believe that our effective and affordable treatment solution for patients diagnosed with infertility, INVOcell, can help address key infertility treatment challenges regarding cost, capacity constraints and access to care to help serve the very large, underserved patient population,” stated Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience. Please read the story here. 
    • 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.
    • After the close 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, after the close 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 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. Since January 2019, INVO Bioscience has signed commercialization agreements in the United States, India, as well as parts of Africa and Eurasia and Mexico for the INVOcell device.



  • Shares of NeuBase Therapeutics (NBSE) closed trading this week at $6.03 up from the close of $5.71/share last Friday. 
    • On April 26, NeuBase, a biotechnology company accelerating the genetic revolution with a new class of precision genetic medicines, announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 9,200,000 shares of its common stock (inclusive of 1,200,000 shares that were sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares of NeuBase’s common stock), at a price to the public of $5.00 per share, generating gross proceeds of $46.0 million before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by NeuBase. NeuBase intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, working capital and development of its product candidates and pipeline expansion. RBC Capital Markets, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Chardan acted as the joint book-running managers for the offering, and National Securities Corporation acted as co-manager for the offering.
    • On April 22, NBSE announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 8,000,000 shares of its common stock, at a price to the public of $5.00 per share. The gross proceeds to NeuBase from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by NeuBase, are expected to be approximately $40 million, excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of common stock. In addition, NeuBase has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,200,000 shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, to cover over-allotments, if any. All of the shares of common stock in the offering are being sold by NeuBase. RBC Capital Markets, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Chardan are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering, and National Securities Corporation is acting as co-manager. NeuBase intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, working capital and development of its product candidates and pipeline expansion. This offering is expected to close on or about April 26, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

    • On April 8, NBSE announced that it will host a virtual R&D day for investors and analysts on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT. During the event, NeuBase will present new data, along with an in-depth review of the Company’s pipeline of drug candidates – including in Huntington’s disease, myotonic dystrophy type 1, and a new oncology program for a target that has previously been thought of as undruggable – as well as an introduction to the expanded management team. Additional details will be made available prior to the event. The event will be webcast live on NeuBase’s website at https://ir.neubasetherapeutics.com/news-events/ir-calendar. Following the live webcast, a replay will be available on the Company’s website and archived for approximately 90 days.

    • Recently, Neubase reported its financial results for the three-month period ended December 31, 2020. Review the story here.

    • NBSE recently announced the execution of a binding agreement to acquire infrastructure, programs and intellectual property for several peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) scaffolds from Vera Therapeutics, formerly known as TruCode Gene Repair, Inc. The technology has demonstrated the ability to resolve disease in genetic models of several human indications. The acquisition was reported to bolster NeuBase’s capabilities and reinforces the Company’s position as a leader in the field of genetic medicine. Read the complete story.

    • NeuBase is developing the next generation of gene silencing therapies with its flexible, highly specific synthetic antisense oligonucleotides. The proprietary NeuBase peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) antisense oligonucleotide (PATrOL™) platform allows for the rapid development of targeted drugs, increasing the treatment opportunities for the hundreds of millions of people affected by rare genetic diseases, including those that can only be treated through accessing of secondary RNA structures. Using PATrOL technology, NeuBase aims to first tackle rare, genetic neurological disorders.
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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. 

Investing & Inspiration

  1. “No stock price is too low for bears or too high for bulls.” –  John F. Heerdink, Jr.
  2. “Investment is most successful when it is most businesslike.” – Ben Graham
  3. “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
  4. “Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd.” – Benjamin Graham
  5. “Individual who cannot master their emotions are ill-suited to profit from the investment process.” – Benjamin Graham
  6. “I made my first investment at age eleven. I was wasting my life until then.” – Warren Buffet
  7. “I don’t look to jump over seven-foot bars; I look around for one-foot bars that I can step over.” — Warren Buffett
  8. “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
  9. “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble” ― Warren Buffett
  10. “If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” – Warren Buffet
  11. “How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” — Robert G. Allen
  12. “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price.” – Warren Buffett
  13. “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
  14. “Every once in a while, the market does something so stupid it takes your breath away.” — Jim Cramer
  15. “The person who starts simply with the idea of getting rich won’t succeed; you must have a larger ambition.” — John D. Rockefeller
  16. “Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch
  17. “Although it’s easy to forget sometimes, a share is not a lottery ticket… it’s part ownership of a business.” – Peter Lynch
  18. “Wise spending is part of wise investing. And it’s never too late to start.” – Rhonda Katz

  19. “Invest for the long haul. Don’t get too greedy and don’t get too scared.” – Shelby M.C. Davis

  20. “Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.”
    -Jeremy Siegel

  21. 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
  22. “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
  23. “The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.” — Peter Thiel
  24. “Never depend on a single income, make an investment to create a second source.” Warren Buffet“Games are won by players who focus on the playing field –- not by those whose eyes are glued to the scoreboard.” ― Warren Buffett
  25. “The key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.” – Peter Lynch
  26. “Courage taught me no matter how bad a crisis gets … any sound investment will eventually pay off.” — Carlos Slim Helu
  27. “Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.” – Grant Cardone
  28. “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
  29. “Given a 10% chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time.” — Jeff Bezos
  30. “Money is always eager and ready to work for anyone who is ready to employ it.” ― Idowu Koyenikan
  31. “The secret to investing is to figure out the value of something – and then pay a lot less.” – Joel Greenblatt
  32. “We don’t have an analytical advantage, we just look in the right place.” – Seth Klarman
  33. “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
  34. “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
  35. “In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” — Robert Arnott
  36. “Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!” — John Bogle
  37. “No Price is too low for a bear or too high for a bull.” — Anonymous
  38. “Investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future.” — Anonymous
  39. “Behind every stock is a company. Find out what it’s doing.” — Peter Lynch
  40. “Wise spending is part of wise investing. And it’s never too late to start.” –Rhonda Katz
  41. “If there is one common theme to the vast range of the world’s financial crises, it is that excessive debt accumulation, whether by the government, banks, corporations, or consumers, often poses greater systemic risks than it seems during a boom.” — Carmen Reinhart
  42. “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
  43. “A bull market is like sex. It feels best just before it ends.” — Barton Biggs
  44. “The investor’s chief problem — even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself.” — Benjamin Graham
  45. “No profession requires more hard work, intelligence, patience, and mental discipline than successful speculation.” – Robert Rhea
  46. “The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.” — Peter Thiel
  47. “Money is like a sixth sense – and you can’t make use of the other five without it.” – William Somerset Maugham
  48. “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” — Albert Einstein
  49. “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” – Warren Buffett
  50. “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
  51. “Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.” – Grant Cardone
  52. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn
  53. “You cannot save time for your future use however you can invest time for your future.” – John F. Heerdink, Jr. 
  54. “We always live in an uncertain world. What is certain is that the United States will go forward over time.” – Warren Buffett
  55. “Never test the depth of the river with both of your feet.” – Warren Buffet
  56. “Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch
  57. “Liquidity is only there when you don’t need it.” -Old Proverb
  58. “There is no such thing as no risk. There’s only this choice of what to risk, and when to risk it.” – Nick Murray
  59. “If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.” – Richard Branson
  60. Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.” – Jeremy Siegel
  61. “In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott
  62. “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.” – Charlie Munger
  63. “The entrance strategy is actually more important than the exit strategy.” – Edward Lampert
  64. “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” – PopeFrancis
  65. “It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority.” – John Templeton
  66. “Inaction and patience are almost always the wisest options for investors in the stock market.” – Guy Spier
  67. “Remember that the stock market is a manic depressive.”  – Warren Buffett
  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. “The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo. I get up at 4:30 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.” – Bob Iger, Former Ceo of Disney
  74. “In the short run, the market is a voting machine. But in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” – Ben Graham
  75. “In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” -Robert Arnott
  76. “The fundamental law of investing is the uncertainty of the future.” -Peter Bernstein
  77. “How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts?” -Robert G Allen
  78. “Greed is all right, by the way. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.”-Ivan Boesky
  79. 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
  80. “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru
  81. “I talk about macro themes a lot because they are fun to talk about, but it is the risk management that is the most important thing. The risk control is all bottom-up. I structured the business right from the get-go so that we would have lots of diversification.” -Michael Platt
  82. “Blaming speculators as a response to financial crisis goes back at least to the Greeks. It’s almost always the wrong response.” -Larry Summers

Videos

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