Biotech continues to be one of the most explosive sectors on the market.
After all, we can’t stop people from aging – at least, not yet. We can’t stop people from seeking treatments for a myriad of issues. Plus, there’s growing demand for innovation in gene therapies, immune-oncology, precision medicine, machine-learning drug discovery, and treatments for unmet medical needs, like nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment.
Look at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL).
The stock is up more than 235%, or $150 on a volume spike to 6.9 million shares, as compared to daily average volume of 313,622. All after its final stage study for NASH met its goals with its experimental drug resmetirom. This could be a massive opportunity, considering there are about three million cases a year.
According to a company release: “MAESTRO-NASH, a registrational Phase 3 trial, has achieved both liver histological improvement endpoints that FDA proposed as reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit to support accelerated approval for the treatment NASH with liver fibrosis.”
Even better, the company intends to file a new drug application (NDA) for the treatment in the first half of New Year 2023.
Piggybacking on the news, Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) is up 73% on a volume spike to 79.6 million shares, as compared to daily average volume of 785,126.
VKTX is working on a NASH treatment of its own, which is currently in Phase 2b clinical trials. So far, according to the company, “In a Phase 2a trial for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and elevated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), patients who received VK2809 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in LDL-C and liver fat content compared with patients who received placebo.”
We’d look to possibly buy both NASH stocks on near-term pullbacks.