7 Top Gainers In Healthcare Sector (MDWD, RFL, CGEN...)

(RTTNews) - The following are some of today's top gainers in the pharma/biotech sector.

1. MYnd Analytics Inc. (MYND)

MYnd is a predictive analytics company that has developed a decision support tool to help physicians reduce trial and error treatment in mental health and provide more personalized care to patients.

Gained 20% to close Tuesday's (Jan.22) trading at $1.56.

News: No news

Recent event:

On January 7, the Company announced that it has entered into a definitive stock-for-stock merger agreement with Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., a leader in sickle cell disease treatment.

Emmaus is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, and its lead FDA-approved product is Endari, which is indicated to reduce the acute complications of sickle cell disease in adult and pediatric patients five years of age and older.

Following the merger, Emmaus will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MYnd Analytics in exchange for MYnd Analytics' issuance of common stock to Emmaus shareholders and other equity holder. The surviving company will change its name to Emmaus and receive a new ticker symbol to reflect the name change.

2. Altimmune Inc. (ALT)

Gained 15.81% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.37.

News: No news

Pipeline:

Altimmune is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company having four clinical product candidates in its pipeline namely, NasoVAX, a phase II seasonal influenza vaccine candidate, HepTcell, a phase II-ready immunotherapeutic candidate for the potential cure of chronic hepatitis B, SPARVAX-L, a phase II Anthrax vaccine, and NasoShield, a next generation Anthrax vaccine, under phase I study.

Near-term Catalyst:

In Part A of the initial phase I evaluation of NasoShield, a single dose was well-tolerated but did not produce an appreciable toxin neutralizing antibody (TNA) response. In Part B of the NasoShield study, the two-dose regimen was also well-tolerated and provided a boost in total antibody against the antigen, but overall the immune response was very limited.

Considering the single dose and two-dose clinical data, together with the disparate results from the nonclinical studies, the Company believes that there may be either a manufacturing or an administration-related issue with the vaccine used in the Phase 1 study. All potential causes that may have contributed to the results are being probed, and the results of these investigations are expected in the first half of 2019.

3. Apollo Endosurgery Inc. (APEN)

Gained 15.38% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.90.

The Company deals with less invasive medical devices for bariatric and gastrointestinal procedures. The marketed products include OverStitch Endoscopic Suturing System and ORBERA Intragastric Balloon.

News: No news

Recent event:

On December 17, 2018, the Company sold its surgical product line, which consists of the Lap-Band adjustable gastric banding system and other accessories used in laparoscopic bariatric surgery, to ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (RSLS).

As part of the deal, Apollo received cash of $10 million and ReShape's intra-gastric balloon product line. Apollo is also entitled to receive payments of $2 million each on the first and second anniversaries of the closing, and a final payment of $3 million on the third anniversary of the closing.

4. Titan Medical Inc. (TMDI)

Gained 14.24% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.77.

Titan Medical is a medical device company focused on the design and development of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery.

News: No news

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Complete the required human confirmatory studies for its SPORT Surgical System under an Investigational Device Exemption during the second half of 2019.

The SPORT Surgical System is a single-port robotic surgical system, being developed for one or more of gynecologic, urologic, colorectal or general abdominal procedures.

-- File for the CE mark for SPORT Surgical System by year-end 2019.

5. Compugen Ltd. (CGEN)

Gained 12.62% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.57.

News: The Company announced the publication of 2 peer-reviewed papers in Cancer Immunology Research, indicating monotherapy and combination opportunities for its investigational drug COM701, a first-in-class cancer immunotherapy antibody targeting PVRIG.

PVRIG, a novel immune checkpoint, is considered an attractive target for cancer treatments in solid tumors.

COM701 is under a phase I trial in solid tumors and is the only anti-PVRIG drug candidate currently available for clinical testing.

6. Rafael Holdings Inc. (RFL)

Rafael Holdings holds commercial real estate assets and interests in two clinical-stage pharmaceutical companies namely, Rafael Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lipomedix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Gained 12.13% to close Tuesday's trading at $18.49. The stock touched an all-time high of $18.85 in intraday trading.

News: No news

Clinical Trials & Near-Term Catalysts:

-- A phase III pivotal trial of Devimistat in combination with modified FOLFIRINOX as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, dubbed AVENGER 500, was initiated as recently as December 2018. The interim analysis of the study is expected to be completed as early as Q2 2020. -- A phase III study of Devimistat, in combination with high dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone, in older patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, dubbed ARMADA 2000, was initiated last November. The interim analysis of the study is expected to be completed as early as Q1 2020.

7. MediWound Ltd. (MDWD)

Gained 11.64% to close Tuesday's trading at $4.89.

News: The Company reported positive results from a phase III trial of NexoBrid, dubbed DETECT.

NexoBrid is the Company's lead biopharmaceutical product, which has received approval from the European Medicines Agency as well as the Israeli, Argentinian, South Korean and Russian Ministries of Health, for removal of dead or damaged tissue, known as eschar, in adults with deep partial and full-thickness thermal burns.

The DETECT study met primary and all secondary endpoints with statistically significant results compared with the control group.

Based on the DETECT study results, the Company plans to submit the BLA for NexoBrid in the second half of 2019. A pre BLA meeting is planned for first half of 2019.