The Motley Fool's Market Checkup drills down on the hottest headlines and biggest market movers in the health-care sector. This episode -- featuring a special guest appearance by Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning -- highlights a biotech stock that popped 40%, gives a full examination of the Affordable Care Act's debut week, and finishes off with two stocks poised to profit from Obamacare.
In the following video, Fool health-care bureau chief Max Macaluso asks Dan for his pick on a stock that could benefit from Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Dan singles out Medtronic (NYSE: MDT ) as a potential winner, noting that with the current government shutdown impasse in Washington, lawmakers are looking to use Obamacare as leverage to make political gains. One possible issue that could come into play in the shutdown debate is the medical-device excise tax that Obamacare imposed on Medtronic and its peers, and opponents of the tax could seek to win its repeal in exchange for support of a spending measure and debt ceiling increase, potentially returning lost profits back to Medtronic. Moreover, the recent buyout offer that Stryker (NYSE: SYK ) made to acquire MAKO Surgical (NASDAQ: MAKO ) has turned attention to the medical-device sector once again. Dan and Max discuss the likelihood of a congressional deal to eliminate the tax, and Fool health-care analyst David Williamson also weighs in with his assessment of whether enough bipartisan support exists for the provision to get repealed.
Top 5 Gold Stocks For 2015: KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals Inc (KYTH)
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated in June 2004, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription products for the aesthetic medicine market. The Company�� initial focus is on the facial aesthetics market. The Company�� product candidate, ATX-101, is a injectable drug in Phase III clinical development for the reduction of submental fat, which commonly presents as an undesirable double chin. Based on clinical trials conducted, ATX-101 has exhibited results in the reduction of submental fat. ATX-101 contains a synthetic form of sodium deoxycholate. In the United States and Canada, the Company is conducting two pivotal Phase III trials of ATX-101 for the reduction of submental fat. The Company initiated this pivotal Phase III clinical program, with planned enrollment of 1,000 patients, in March 2012.
In Europe, Bayer, its collaborator outside the United States and Canada, recently completed two pivotal Phase III trials of ATX-101 for the reduction of submental fat. In these multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pivotal trials involving 723 patients, ATX-101 resulted in a reduction in submental fat, as assessed by a validated clinician scale and a patient satisfaction scale.
ATX-101 contains a synthetic form of sodium deoxycholate. ATX-101 is designed to be a locally-injected drug that causes proximal, preferential destruction of adipocytes, or fat cells, with minimal effect on surrounding tissue. Upon subcutaneous injection under the skin, ATX-101 disrupts cell membranes in protein-poor tissues, such as fat, while being attenuated by interactions with protein-rich tissue, such as skin, muscle and blood vessels. This attenuation by protein-rich tissue results in the preferential destruction of adipocytes by ATX-101. The destruction of adipocytes, or adipocytolysis, elicits a natural response, in which macrophages are attracted to remove cellular debris and fat particles t! hrough the lymphatic system. The macrophages also emit low levels of chemical messengers, known as cytokines, which attract fibroblasts, another cell type, to the area. Fibroblasts produce collagen, and it is believed that new collagen production, or neocollagenesis, promotes retraction of the skin in the areas of fat reduction. The fat removal process with ATX-101 is incremental with each treatment, thereby allowing for control of the aesthetic outcome.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bioassociate Consulting]
Yesterday evening, after trading hours, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH) announced positive top line results from its Phase III studies with ATX-101 for the reduction of submental fat. The REFINE-1 and REFINE-2 Phase III trials met all primary and secondary endpoints and reaffirmed the efficacy and safety of ATX-101 for the reduction of submental fat, commonly referred to as a double chin.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KYTH) shares moved up 24.01% to $41.58. The volume of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals shares traded was 6431% higher than normal. Kythera reported positive ATX-101 top line phase III trial results for the reduction of submental fat.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Repros Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RPRX) shot up 29.82 percent to $27.60 after the company announced topline results from both the second pivotal efficacy study as well as the 6 month safety study of Androxal庐. Shares of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KYTH) got a boost, shooting up 26.04 percent to $42.26 after the company reported positive ATX-101 top line phase III trial results for the reduction of submental fat. Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) was also up, gaining 16.75 percent to $10.05 after private equity firm Sycamore Partners reported that it had bought a 7.96 percent stake in the company.
Top Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Uroplasty Inc (UPI)
Uroplasty, Inc., incorporated in January 1992, is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets products for the treatment of voiding dysfunctions. The Company�� primary focus is on two products: the Urgent PC Neuromodulation system and Macroplastique Implants. The Urgent PC system is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved minimally invasive, office-based neuromodulation therapy for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) and associated symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency, and urge incontinence; and Macroplastique Implants a urethral bulking agent for the treatment of adult female stress urinary incontinence primarily due to intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). Outside of the United States, the Company�� Urgent PC is also approved for treatment of fecal incontinence, and Macroplastique is also approved for treatment of male stress incontinence and vesicoureteral reflux.
Urgent PC Neuromodulation System
Using a small-gauge needle electrode inserted above the ankle, the Urgent PC System delivers electrical impulses to the tibial nerve that travel to the sacral nerve plexus, a control center for pelvic floor and bladder function. Components of the Urgent PC system include a hair-width needle electrode, a lead set, and an external, handheld, battery-powered stimulator. For each 30-minute, office-based therapy session, the physician or other qualified healthcare provider inserts the needle electrode in the patient�� lower leg and connects the electrode to the stimulator. Typically, a patient undergoes 12 consecutive weekly treatment sessions, with follow-up maintenance treatments as required to sustain the therapeutic effect. The Company has received regulatory clearances for sale of the Urgent PC system in the United States, Canada and Europe. It also has launched its second generation Urgent PC system.
Macroplastique
Macroplastique is designed to restore the patient�� urinary contine! nce immediately following treatment. Macroplastique is a soft-textured, permanent implant injected, under endoscopic visualization, around the urethra distal to the bladder neck. It is a composition of heat vulcanized, solid, soft, irregularly shaped polydimethylsiloxane (solid silicone elastomer) implants suspended in a biocompatible excretable carrier gel. Macroplastique does not degrade, is not absorbed into surrounding tissues and does not migrate from the implant site. The Company has sold Macroplastique for several urological indications in over 40 countries outside the United States.
Other Uroplasty Products
The Company markets outside of the United States minimally invasive products to address fecal incontinence. Its PTQ Implants offer minimally invasive, soft-textured permanent implant for treatment of fecal incontinence. The PTQ Implants are implanted circumferentially into the submucosa of the anal canal, creating a bulking and supportive effect similar to that of Macroplastique injection for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. The PTQ is Conformite Europeenne (CE) marked and is sold outside the United States in various international markets. The Urgent PC is also CE marked and sold outside of the United States for the treatment of fecal incontinence. In addition to urological applications, the Company markets its tissue bulking material outside the United States for otolaryngology vocal cord rehabilitation applications under the trade name VOX Implants. In the Netherlands and the United Kingdom only, the Company distributes certain wound care products in accordance with a distributor agreement.
The Company competes with Pfizer Inc., Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Carbon Medical Technologies, BioForm, Inc., Q-Med AB and Contura.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
Uroplasty (NASDAQ: UPI) shares reached a new 52-week high of $5.22 after the company reported strong Q3 results.
Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) shares gained 8.23% to touch a new 52-week high of $28.15 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Barclays upgraded the stock from Equalweight to Overweight and lifted the price target from $29.00 to $34.00.
Top Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKMR)
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference (RNAi) therapeutics and providing its lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners. On March 1, 2012, it announced that the Company had secured a license from Alnylam to develop TKMALDH2, an RNAi therapeutic that utilizes Tekmira's LNP for the treatment of Alcohol Dependence (AD). Its lead oncology product candidate, TKM-PLK1, targets PLK1, a protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and a validated oncology target. On February 8, 2012, it announced that Phase I clinical trial for TKM-Ebola had been initiated. The Phase 1 TKM-Ebola clinical trial is a placebo-controlled, single-blind, single-ascending dose study with additional multiple-ascending dose cohorts in healthy human volunteers. In the field of RNAi therapeutics, the Company has licensed its LNP delivery technology to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Tekmira (TKMR) has gained 27% this week alone, and no wonder. Its Ebola treatment is thought to be on the fast-track to approval thanks to the massive outbreak in Africa that has now reached US shores.
Getty ImagesThere’s more to Tekmira than Ebola, notes Maxim’s Jason Kolbert, even if it’s the company’s treatment that caused him to raise his target on the stock to $31 from $23:
Tekmira announced the achievement of a development milestone, supporting a $1.5 million payment from Monsanto (MON), following completion of specified program objectives. This work is part of the research program under the Option Agreement Tekmira signed with the agriculture company, which was announced on January 13, 2014. The Option Agreement relates to Tekmira’s proprietary delivery technology and intellectual property for use in agricultural applications. The potential value of the transaction could reach up to $86.2 million, following the successful completion of all program milestones.
This news follows the recent news of a reported case of Ebola in Texas. Tekmira continues to make progress in the development of TKM-EBOLA. On September 22, 2014 the company announced that TKM-EBOLA was cleared for emergency use on the ground in West Africa. The company announced it will join an international consortium that will establish clinical development centers in Ebola hot zones. We have accelerated our Ebola assumptions and as a result it drives additional upside, our new price target is $31.00.
Shares of Tekmira have gained 8.3% to $27.58 at 12:02 p.m., while Monsanto has dipped 0.1% to $110.09.
- [By Markus Aarnio]
Companies working on chemically synthesized siRNAs include Merck (MRK), through its subsidiary Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis (NVS), Takeda (TKPHF.PK), Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Marina Biotech, Inc., Arrowhead and its subsidiary, Calando, Quark, Silence Therapeutics plc, Tekmira (TKMR), Sylentis and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Biotech companies that are most likely to benefit because they are “Ahead in clinical development and/or have established relationships with [the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or] BARDA which may facilitate getting a contract” include GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), NewLink Genetics (NLNK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Chimerix (CMRX). Kantor includes Tekmira�(TKMR) and Sarepta (SRPT) among “companies with viable programs” that are “moving forward and likely to attract additional funding.”
Top Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Alere Inc (ALR)
Alere Inc., incorporated on May 11, 2001, is a provider of point-of-care diagnostics and services. The Company's products and services help healthcare practitioners make treatment decisions and improve outcomes for individuals living with chronic disease. The Company's portfolio also includes a range of health information solutions that access to critical health data, provide clinical decision support, and facilitate performance reporting and analysis. The Company�� segment includes professional diagnostics, health information solutions and consumer diagnostics. The Company distributes its professional diagnostic products to hospitals, reference laboratories, physician offices and other point-of-care settings through an worldwide distribution networks. In February 2013, the Company acquired Epocal, Inc.
Professional Diagnostics
Professional diagnostics are generally designed to assist medical professionals in both preventative and interventional medicine, and include testing and monitoring performed in hospitals, laboratories and doctors' offices and, increasingly, patient self-testing, which the Company defines as testing or monitoring performed at home under the supervision of a medical professional. Professional diagnostic products provide for qualitative or quantitative analysis of patient samples for evidence of a specific medical condition, disease state or toxicological state or to measure response to therapy. The point-of-care market for rapid diagnostic products includes all areas where a patient is assessed or diagnosed, including hospitals, laboratories, physician offices, specialized mobile clinics, emergency rooms, rapid-response laboratories and patient health screening locations.
The Company's Alere Cholestech LDX System is a point-of-care monitor of blood cholesterol and related lipids which is used to test patients at risk of, or suffering from, heart disease and related conditions. The Alere Cholestech LDX System makes it possible to provide ! a complete lipid profile with tests for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), triglycerides, and glucose. The Company's Alere INRatio System is an easy-to-use, hand-held blood coagulation monitoring system for use by patients and healthcare professionals in the management of warfarin, a commonly prescribed medication used to prevent blood clots. The Company also offers the epoc Blood Analysis System for bloods gas, electrolyte and metabolite testing, which is manufactured by its recently acquired Epocal division. The epoc (enterprise point-of-care) platform is a point-of-care analysis system which provides Wireless bedside blood gas, electrolyte and metabolite measurement testing solutions and complements the Company's Alere Triage products in cardiology and emergency room settings.
The Company develops and markets a range of point-of-care tests for influenza A/B, RSV, strep throat, pneumonia, C. difficile, infectious mononucleosis, HIV, herpes simplex virus (HSV-2), hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), malaria, lyme disease, Chlamydia, H. pylori, rubella and other infectious diseases. The Company's tests for infectious disease are sold under brand names that include Alere, Alere Determine, Acceava, BinaxNOW, Clearview, DoubleCheckGold, Panbio, SD, TECHLAB and Alere TestPack. In addition to point-of-care products, the Company also offers a line of indirect fluorescent antibody, or IFA, assays for over 20 viral, bacterial and autoimmune diseases, a full line of serology diagnostic products covering a range of disease categories and over 50 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), tests for a range of infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as a full line of automated instrumentation for processing ELISA tests.
The Company offers laboratory-based testing services throughout Europe under the name Alere Toxicology, formerly Concateno, and in the United States under the names Alere Toxicology Services, or! Alere To! xicology, and Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, or Redwood. The Company offers point-of-care diabetes products, including its Afinion Analyzer System and its NycoCard System. The Company's Alere Connect products include HealthPAL and HealthCOM.
Health Information Solutions
The Company's health information solutions are designed to provide physicians with actionable data that allows them to make more decisions in real time, deliver quality care, and put the individuals they treat on a pathway to better health. The Company offers a range of software-based analytics, clinical decision support tools, and accountable cares programs that enable healthcare providers to initiate earlier interventions, personalize treatment plans, lower costs by reducing hospital readmissions, and measure improvements in outcomes at both a patient and population level. With this range of scalable solutions, the Company is able to support healthcare practitioners in the transition to accountable care, as well as in meeting the new pay-for-performance guidelines set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Company's Women's and Children's Health division delivers a range of obstetrical care services that range from risk assessments focused on identifying women who may experience pregnancy complications to a neonatal program that supports early infant care management. The Company offers home-based obstetrical monitoring for pregnant women with medical or pregnancy-related problems that could puts their health or the health of their babies at risk. The Company also delivers telephonic and home-based nursing services that support improved clinical outcomes. The Company offers a suite of integrated wellness programs and resources that is designed to reduce participant health risks and healthcare-related costs. The Company's wellness programs include screening for risk factors associated with chronic disease, particularly tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and chron! ic stress! .
The Company offers services designed to support anticoagulation management for patients who takes warfarin to control their risk for stroke and clotting disorders. Alere Home Monitoring, the Company's patient self-testing business, assists patients in acquiring home INR monitors and with insurance coverage determinations and provides physicians with a comprehensive model that allows them to incorporate patient self-testing into their practices.
Consumer Diagnostics
The Company's consumer diagnostic products consist of the Company's First Check brand of over-the-counter drug tests for at-home testing for up to seven illicit drugs and five prescription drugs, as well as First Check brand over-the-counter tests for cholesterol monitoring. The Company also sells Balance Activ Vaginal Gel directly to consumers and healthcare professionals for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis without antibiotics.
The Company competes with Abbott, Siemens, Beckman Coulter, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Abaxis Medical Diagnostics, International Technidyne Corporation, INOVA Diagnostics, DiaSorin, Diamedx and Qiagen.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Alere (NYSE: ALR ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
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