Friday | ||||
Oppenheimer analyst… Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh raised the firm's price target on Viracta Therapeutics (VIRX) to $36 from $12 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares following Viracta's announcement of the closing of the merger with Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (SNSS) and to account for the effectiveness of a 1-for-3.5 reverse stock split. Pre-merger Viracta shareholders and Sunesis shareholders collectively own about 86% and 14%, respectively, of the combined company, Singh noted. Singh is looking forward to greater insights from management on the design and expected timing of the nanatinostat + valganciclovir in the EBV-positive lymphomas registration trial in 2021, the analyst added. |
Thursday | ||||
New option listings for… New option listings for February 25th include PAVmed (PAVM), Viracta Therapeutics Inc (VIRX), and Zepp Health Corporation (Class A ADS) (ZEPP). Option delistings effective February 25th include Huami Corporation (Class A ADS) (HMI) and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc (SNSS). |
Over a week ago | ||||
As previously reported,… As previously reported, Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh upgraded Sunesis to Outperform from Perform with a $12 price target due to the "intriguing and elegant" approach to precision oncology in-soon to be merged with Sunesis-Viracta's pipeline. The analyst notes that in his conversations with the Viracta management team, he was "struck by" the laser-focus on the lead registration trial, the logic behind bringing onboard the experienced Sunesis team, and the potential among EBV cancers. | ||||
Oppenheimer analyst… Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh upgraded Sunesis Pharmaceuticals to Outperform from Perform with a $12 price target. | ||||
Viracta Therapeutics… Viracta Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, has issued a Notice of Allowance for patent application No. 16/924,082. The allowed application, titled "Methods of Treating Virally Associated Cancers with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors," describes the use of Viracta's all-oral combination product candidate of nanatinostat, the Company's proprietary investigational drug, and valganciclovir. The allowed claims cover the anticipated dose regimen to be advanced in the planned global registration trial for the treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoma and other lymphoproliferative disorders. Upon its grant, the resulting patent will provide protection into at least 2040. A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO makes the determination that a patent should be granted from an application. A patent from the recently allowed application is expected to be issued in the coming months. Based on its current development and commercialization plans, Viracta expects this patent to be Orange Book eligible. |
Over a quarter ago | ||||
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals… Sunesis Pharmaceuticals and Viracta Therapeutics announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Viracta will combine with Sunesis in an all-stock transaction. The merged company will focus on the advancement and expansion of Viracta's clinical stage, precision oncology pipeline targeting virus-associated malignancies, including Viracta's lead program for the treatment of Epstein-Barr virus-positive relapsed/refractory lymphomas. Upon completion of the Merger, the combined company will operate under the name Viracta Therapeutics, Inc. and intends to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "VIRX." Viracta recently completed a $40M Series E Preferred Stock equity financing led by aMoon, Israel's leading healthtech and life sciences venture fund, with participation from Taiwania Capital Management, Latterell Venture Partners, LifeSci Venture Partners and other existing investors. Concurrent with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Viracta entered into an agreement for the sale of common stock in a private placement with an investor syndicate of institutional accredited investors led by BVF Partners L.P., with participation from aMoon, Ridgeback Capital Management, Surveyor Capital, Logos Capital, Samsara Biocapital, Sectoral Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, LifeSci Venture Partners, and Serrado Capital LLC, as well as other institutional investors. The private placement is expected to result in gross proceeds to Viracta of approximately $65M prior to the close of the Merger, subject to customary conditions. Upon the close of the Merger and related financing, the total cash balance of the combined company is expected to be approximately $120M with an expected cash runway into 2024. Viracta's lead program evaluates the all-oral combination of nanatinostat, its proprietary investigational drug, and valganciclovir in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of EBV-positive relapsed/refractory lymphomas. There are currently no approved therapies for EBV-associated cancers, which are responsible for over 140,000 deaths each year. Viracta's precision oncology and biomarker-driven combination product candidate targets EBV-positive cancer cells with an inducible synthetic lethality approach. Viracta plans to initiate a registration trial for the treatment of EBV-positive lymphoma in the first half of 2021, and also plans to initiate a Phase 1b/2 trial in EBV-positive solid tumors in 2021. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, pending stockholder approval of the transaction, Viracta will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunesis, and stockholders of Viracta will receive shares of newly issued Sunesis common stock. Viracta stockholders are expected to own approximately 86% and Sunesis stockholders will own approximately 14% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis using the treasury stock method. The percentage of the combined company that Sunesis stockholders will own as of the close of the Merger may be subject to adjustment based on Sunesis' net cash. The Merger Agreement has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of each company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to approvals by stockholders of each company and other customary closing conditions. The combined company will be led by Viracta's current management team and will be headquartered in Cardiff, California. The Board of Directors is expected to consist of seven members, including six members from Viracta's board and one member from Sunesis' board. | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents… Cash and cash equivalents totaled $26M as of September 30, as compared to cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $34.6Mas of December 31, 2019. The decrease of $8.6 million was due to cash used in operating activities, mainly resulting from our net loss of $16.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the $5.5 million principal payment of the SVB Loan Agreement, offset by the $12.6 million net proceeds from issuance of common stock and adjustments for non-cash items of $1.1 million. "Our number one priority is our review of strategic alternatives while continuing to build value in our internal and partnered programs" said Dayton Misfeldt, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Sunesis. "We have engaged MTS Health Partners, L.P., as our financial advisor, as we are committed to ensuring we find a value-creating path for the company." | ||||
The FDA has granted… The FDA has granted orphan designation to DOT Therapeutics for its treatment of malignant glioma, according to a post to the agency's website. In March, Dayton Misfeldt, interim CEO of Sunesis, stated along with the company's Q4 earnings report: "We are also building value in our product pipeline through partnerships. In December, we partnered vosaroxin with Denovo Biopharma and TAK-580 with DOT Therapeutics-1 to advance these programs to the market." Reference Link | ||||
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals… Sunesis Pharmaceuticals announced that it has filed a Certificate of Amendment to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to effect a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, effective as of 5pm ET. The reverse stock split was effected by Sunesis in accordance with the authorization, and within the split ratio range, adopted by Sunesis stockholders at the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 16. The reverse stock split is intended to enable Sunesis to regain compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market. | ||||
Unusual total active… Unusual total active option classes on open include: Sunesis (SNSS), K12 (LRN), Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp (SOLO), SunPower (SPWR), Roku (ROKU), Okta (OKTA), Workhorse Group (WKHS), Gap (GPS), Bilibili (BILI), and Marvell (MRVL). |