AbbVie (ABBV), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Pancreatic Cancer Study Fails Main Goal; Hancock Jaffe (HJLI) Bounces Back; Analysts' Perspective on Aphria (APHA), Canopy Growth (CGC), Cronos Group (CRON)
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) said Friday that a late-stage trial evaluating ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) in combination with chemotherapy agents nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine versus placebo in combination with these chemotherapy agents in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma did not meet its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) benefit among the study population.
IMBRUVICA is a first-in-class Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company, and Janssen Biotech, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) company.
AbbVie discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide.
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After sitting in negative territory most of the day, shares of Hancock Jaffe Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq:HJLI) finally closed at $1.58 (+0.50%) on Friday's trading session.
HJLI is scheduled to begin a study for its CoreoGraft, bioprosthetic graft on January 29 at the Texas Heart Institute. The 30 day study will involve a series of CoreoGraft implantations tested for short term patency and flow rates, a problem which impacts a significant percentage of the 180,000 patients that have coronary bypass surgery each year in the U.S. The Company expects to have results from the CoreoGraft study available by the end of March 2019.
HJLI is also preparing for its VenoValve first-in-human trial in Bogota, Columbia, which will also begin in Q1 of 2019. The Company has begun to screen patients for the trial, and will announce the date for the first VenoValve implantations once initial patient enrollment is completed. The VenoValve was developed to treat severe cases of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a debilitating condition often associated with open venous ulcers and intense pain, and which afflicts approximately 4.5 million people in the U.S. and tens of millions of additional patients worldwide. There are currently no FDA approved treatments for deep venous CVI.
HJLI specializes in developing and manufacturing bioprosthetic medical devices to establish improved standards of care for treating cardiac and vascular diseases.
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Analysts at CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Aphria Inc. (NYSE:APHA) (TSX:APHA) with a 'Neutral' rating.
Aphria said Friday that it has recently entered into an exclusive agreement with Toronto-based UNOapp Inc. to collaborate on the development of technology and analytics solutions for Canada's adult-use cannabis industry
Aphria produces and sells medical cannabis in Canada and internationally.
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Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE:CGC) (TSX:WEED) shares were initiated with a 'Sector Outperform' rating by research analysts at CIBC.
The cannabis and hemp company, which recently has been granted a licence by New York State to process and produce hemp, will release its third quarter fiscal 2019 financial results after the closing bell on Thursday, February 14.
Canopy Growth engages in growing, possession, and sale of medical cannabis in Canada. Its products include dried flowers, oils and concentrates, softgel capsules, and hemps.
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Equities research analysts at CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Cronos Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CRON) (TSX:CRON) with a 'Sector Outperform' rating.
The globally diversified and vertically integrated cannabis company said Friday that the meeting materials for an upcoming special meeting have been mailed to its shareholders.
The special meeting of shareholders, to be held on February 21, 2019, is in connection with the proposed C$2.4 billion equity investment by Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in Cronos Group.
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