Healthcare Stocks That Hit New Highs (APRE, FTSV, FREQ...)

(RTTNews) - The following are the healthcare stocks that hit a new 52-week high on Thursday.

1. Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. (APRE) hit a new high of $44.3 in intraday trading on Thursday, before closing at $39.37. The stock debuted on the Nasdaq on October 3, 2019, at an opening price of $15.46.

Aprea Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing cancer therapeutics.

The company's lead drug candidate APR-246 is being investigated in a variety of solid and hematological tumors, including Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and ovarian cancer, among others.

Positive results were reported from the phase Ib/II studies of APR-246 in combination with Azacitidine (AZA) in patients with TP53 mutant MDS and AML at the recently held 2019 annual meeting of American Society of Hematology (ASH).

A pivotal Phase 3 study of APR-246 with azacitidine for frontline treatment of TP53 mutant MDS is ongoing.

2. Forty Seven, Inc. (FTSV) recorded a new high of $42.6 in intraday trading on Thursday, before closing at $38.74. The stock is up nearly 150% year-to-date.

Forty Seven is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company.

Lead drug candidate Magrolimab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that targets CD47 protein, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

A phase Ib trial evaluating Magrolimab in combination with Azacitidine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia is underway. The updated clinical data from this ongoing trial were reported on December 9, 2019, sending the Company's stock up more than 110% that day.

Enrollment in the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020. A phase III randomized control trial to evaluate the combination of Magrolimab and Azacitidine compared to Azacitidine alone in higher-risk MDS, dubbed ENHANCE, is expected to be initiated in the first half of 2020.

On December 11, 2019, Forty Seven announced its decision to issue 4.86 million shares of common stock at $35.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be $170.1 million. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 729,000 of additional shares.

3. Frequency Therapeutics, Inc. (FREQ) jumped to a new high of $20.49 in intraday trading on Thursday, before closing at $18.73. The stock debuted on the Nasdaq on October 3, 2019, at an opening price of $11.20.

Frequency Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on degenerative diseases.

The lead product candidate in the pipeline, FX-322 is in phase IIa study for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, or SNHL, the most prevalent type of hearing loss, typically caused by permanent loss of sensory hair cells in the cochlea within the ear. Topline data are expected to be reported in the second half of next year.

Astellas Pharma holds the right to develop and commercialize FX-322 in Ex-U.S. markets, as per an agreement signed in July this year.

4. IVERIC bio, Inc. (ISEE) hit a new high of $6.38 in intraday trading on Thursday, before closing at $6.34. The stock is up more than 400% year-to-date.

IVERIC bio is a biopharmaceutical company, focused on retinal diseases.

Lead product candidate Zimura is being investigated in Geographic atrophy (GA) and Stargardt disease (STGD). GA is a chronic progressive degeneration of the macula, as part of late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). STGD is a progressive vision loss caused by macular degeneration.

On October 28, 2019, the Company announced that the Phase IIb trial of its investigational complement factor C5 inhibitor Zimura met the primary endpoint in geographic atrophy secondary to Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Enrollment for the second pivotal trial in this indication is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2020.

The initial top-line data from a phase IIb clinical trial of Zimura for the treatment of autosomal recessive Stargardt disease is expected to be available in the second half of 2020.

Last week, the company announced the public offering of 6.25 million shares of common stock at $4.00 per share. An additional 1.5 million shares are offered to underwriters.

5. Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc. (NLTX) jumped to a new high of $9.45 in intraday trading on Thursday, before closing at $8.32. The stock has gained nearly 300% year-to-date.

Neoleukin Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops immunotherapies using protein design technology. The company is the result of the reverse merger between Aquinox Pharmaceuticals and Neoleukin Therapeutics.

The company's lead drug candidate NL-201 is the world's first computationally-designed de novo protein therapeutic designed to mimic the therapeutic activity of the cytokines interleukin-2 and interleukin-15 for the treatment of various types of cancer. Data from the preclinical studies of NL-201 are expected to be reported next year.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $66.3 million as of September 30, 2019.