INFI Picks Up Steam, HAIR Grows, MRSN Awaits Safety Data, SPPI Advances

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

1. Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INFI)

Gained 18.58% to close Wednesday's (Dec.27) trading at $2.33.

News: No news

Recent event:

On November 10, 2017, the Company reported encouraging monotherapy dose escalation clinical and translational data from phase 1/1b study of IPI-549 in advanced solid tumors.

In the phase 1/1b study, which involves approximately 200 patients with advanced solid tumors, IPI-549 is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination with Bristol Myers' Opdivo.

The study includes four parts namely, monotherapy dose escalation, monotherapy expansion, combination dose escalation and combination expansion.

The following timeline summarizes the IPI-549 program goals:

-- Report data from the monotherapy expansion component of the study in the first half of 2018. -- Report data from the combination dose-escalation component of the study in the first half of 2018. -- Report initial data from the combination expansion component of the study in the first half of 2018. -- Report additional data from at least six combination expansion cohorts, with more mature clinical and translational data, including insights from paired tumor biopsies, in the second half of 2018.

2. Aileron Therapeutics Inc. (ALRN)

Gained 12.70% to close Wednesday's trading at $10.38.

News: No news

Aileron's common stock made its debut on the NASDAQ Global Market on June 29, 2017 at an offering price of $15.00 per share.

Pipeline:

The Company's lead product candidate is ALRN-6924. Multiple clinical studies of ALRN-6924 are underway, including a Phase 1 All-comers trial in advanced solid tumors or lymphomas, a Phase 2a trial in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), a Phase 1 trial in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as a monotherapy, and a Phase 1b trial in AML/MDS in combination with cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C).

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Interim data from the Phase 2a trial of ALRN-6924 for the treatment of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma are expected to be reported in the first half of 2018.

3. Restoration Robotics Inc. (HAIR)

Gained 7.84% to close Wednesday's trading at $4.40.

News: No news

Recent event:

-- On October 16, 2017, the Company announced the closing of its initial public offering of 3.57 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $7.00 each. The Company's common stock began trading on The NASDAQ Global Market on October 12, 2017.

The Company commercializes the ARTAS Robotic Hair Restoration System, which is CE-marked and FDA cleared.

4. Sierra Oncology Inc. (SRRA)

Gained 7.84% to close Wednesday's trading at $3.85.

News: No news

Near-term catalyst:

-- An update on the Company's SRA737 program is expected in February 2018.

SRA737 is under two phase I trials - a phase I trial of SRA737 administered orally in subjects with advanced cancer (Solid Tumors or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma), and a phase I trial of oral SRA737 given in combination with Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin or Gemcitabine alone in subjects with advanced cancer (Advanced Solid Tumors).

5. Mersana Therapeutics Inc. (MRSN)

Gained 7.45% to close Wednesday's trading at $18.90.

News: No news

Recent event:

-- The Company went public on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on June 28, 2017 at an offering price of 15.00 per share.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- Interim safety results from phase I trial of lead oncology drug candidate XMT-1522 in patients with advanced tumors expressing HER2, including breast cancer, non-small-cell-lung-cancer (NSCLC) and gastric cancer are expected around the end of this year. -- Initiated a phase I dose escalation and expansion study of XMT-1536, a potential first-in-class Dolaflexin ADC targeting NaPi2b-expressing tumors, on December 12, 2017.

6. KalVista Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KALV)

Gained 7.22% to close Wednesday's trading at $10.25.

Pipeline:

The Company is developing drugs for hereditary angioedema (HAE), diabetic macular edema (DME), and other plasma kallikrein-associated diseases.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- The most advanced drug candidate in the Company's diabetic macular edema franchise is KVD001, which has successfully completed phase I testing. Preparations are underway to advance the compound into phase II studies. -- The hereditary angioedema (HAE) franchise also has 1 compound under phase I development, and that is KVD818. -- Another HAE portfolio candidate that is expected to enter clinic in 2018 is KVD900.

7. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SPPI)

Gained 6.61% to close Wednesday's trading at $19.68.

News: No news

Pipeline:

The Company's pipeline includes Poziotinib under phase II development for lung and breast cancer; Rolontis under phase III trials for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, dubbed ADVANCE and RECOVER, and Qapzola for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, under phase III study.

Near-term Catalysts:

--Topline results from the phase III Rolontis ADVANCE Study are expected in Q1, 2018. --File BLA for Rolontis for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in Q4 2018.

8. Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. (DRNA)

Gained 6.21% to close Wednesday's trading at $9.24.

News: No news

The Company is involved in developing subcutaneously delivered ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi)-based pharmaceuticals to treat chronic liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases and viral infectious diseases.

Recent event:

-- On December 14, 2017, the Company priced its follow-on public offering of common stock at $7.00 per share.

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Upon approval by the MHRA in the United Kingdom, a phase I study of DCR-PHXC for primary hyperoxaluria is expected to be conducted in the first quarter of 2018. -- File an IND application in the U.S. and/or CTA in Europe for a second candidate for an undisclosed rare disease involving the liver in the second quarter of 2018. -- File an IND application in the U.S. or CTA in Europe for DCR-HBVS program, which targets HBV directly, at approximately the end of 2018.