Expert Financial Analysis and Reporting

Investment Perspective in Brief Derma Sciences presents an unusual and attractive biotechnology investment situation. We are all aware of the binary outcomes of critical phase III trials in which a successful outcome usually leads to a dramatic increase in stock price (perhaps several fold), but failure can lead to a 50% or greater decrease in […]

What SmithOnStocks Is All About It is traditional at the start of the year to go over stock picks for the coming year. It also is the time of the annual biotech “love in” in San Francisco, which I recently attended and that attracts some 30,000 biotech executives, analysts, venture capitalists and investors. I estimate […]

Highlights of Dinner Last night, January 9, pSivida held a dinner for analysts and investors in New York. The audience had a large number of retail investors and Dr. Paul Ashton; the CEO gave a general, introductory overview of the Company. However, Dr. Ashton did provide some useful information in regard to three potential catalysts […]

Investment Thesis and Overview Neuralstem’s clinical trial programs and accompanying results for its two key drugs, the neural stem cell product NSI-566 (its lead drug) and its small molecule drug NSI-189, are picking up a good deal of momentum. This year holds the promise for several events that could continue to drive the stock. The […]

Investment Overview Progress in the treatments of most cancers is a gradual and incremental process in which very few therapies can come provide effective therapy by themselves. Cancer cells have evolved numerous biological mechanisms that allow them to resist or overcome the effect of most drugs when used as a single agent. This has led […]

Alimera (ALIM) and pSivida (PSDV) released some extremely encouraging news on Iluvien. They said that Alimera had entered into labeling discussions with the FDA and as a result, both parties have agreed that there is no need for the previously scheduled January 2014, Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Advisory Committee meeting. A reasonable assumption is that the […]

Purpose of This Report Agenus issued a press release on December 16, 2013 in regard to the final results of a phase II trial of Prophage G-200 in recurrent glioblastoma based on an article in the journal Neuro-Oncology, the official journal of the Society of Neuro-Oncology. This was an open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Patients […]

Investment Conclusion on ImmunoCellular The results of the phase II trial of ImmunoCellular’s (IMUC) ICT-107 were disappointing as they did not reach the specified endpoint of a 9.0 month improvement in median overall survival. The data suggests median overall survival of 2.0 months based on an intent to treat analysis of all 124 patients enrolled […]

Report Overview Celldex released interim data on the ReACT trial of rindopepimut in recurrent glioblastoma at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) on November 24, 2013. I am always cautious on rushing out with an interpretation of data from a clinical trial shortly after it is released. There are many different data points in a trial […]

Key Takeaway Points of this Report Northwest (NWBO) restructured much of its debt in 4Q, 2012 and also has raised significant amounts of capital with four equity offerings over the last year that brought in $62 million. In part, because of the weak cash position, it had to issue warrants with each of these deals […]