6 Top Gainers In Healthcare Sector (PLXP, AMRN, MRTX...)

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

1. PLx Pharma Inc. (PLXP)

Gained 37.69% to close Thursday's (Jan.10) trading at $4.53.

PLx is a late-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on commercializing two patent-protected products, Vazalore 325 mg and Vazalore 81 mg (referred to together as "Vazalore").

Vazalore 325 mg is an FDA-approved aspirin product being developed to provide high-risk cardiovascular and stroke patients. The Company is focused on manufacturing, scale-up and label finalization for Vazalore 325 mg aspirin dosage form and preparing an sNDA for Vazalore 81 mg maintenance dose form.

News: No news

Anticipated milestone:

The launch of Vazalore 325 mg and Vazalore 81 mg is planned for mid-2020.

2. Rafael Holdings Inc. (RFL)

Rafael Holdings holds commercial real estate assets and interests in two clinical-stage pharmaceutical companies namely, Rafael Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lipomedix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Gained 30% to close Thursday's trading at $11.83.

News: Rafael Pharmaceuticals' drug candidate Devimistat (CPI-613) has been granted orphan drug designation by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia in patients aged 60 years and above.

Devimistat, in combination with high dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone, is under a phase III pivotal trial in older patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, dubbed ARMADA 2000. This trial is designed to enroll a total of 500 patients and is being conducted at approximately 87 sites in 12 countries. Initiated last November, ARMADA 2000 is expected to be completed as early as Q1 2020.

3. Amarin Corporation plc (AMRN)

Gained 22.09% to close Thursday's trading at $18.35.

News: Amarin has long been rumored to be an acquisition target, with Pfizer being one of the contenders. The buyout rumors are back once again doing the rounds.

Recent event:

On January 4, the Company announced a preliminary estimate of 2018 revenue results.

Net total revenue is expected to be in the range of $72 to $76 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and between $224 and $228 million in full-year 2018. This compares to total revenue of $53.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 and $181.1 million in the full year of 2017.

Near-term Catalyst:

A Supplemental New Drug Application seeking label expansion for Vascepa in the U.S. is anticipated to be submitted by the end of this quarter (Q1, 2019).

4. AgeX Therapeutics Inc. (AGE)

Gained 21.61% to close Thursday's trading at $4.67.

News: LifeMap Sciences Inc., a subsidiary of AgeX Therapeutics, has entered into a partnership with Tianjin Novogene Medical Laboratory and Shanghai Shanyi to provide a combined, best-of-breed Clinical NGS analysis and interpretation platform for Tianjin Novogene Medical Laboratory's customers in China.

LifeMap Sciences' TGex is the leading provider of tertiary NGS analysis and interpretation solutions for rare pediatric disorders in the China market. This partnership is expected to expand LifeMap's access to the Chinese market.

5. Natera Inc. (NTRA)

Natera is a genetic testing company that develops and commercializes non-invasive methods for analyzing DNA.

Gained 13.93% to close Thursday's trading at $12.92.

News: No news

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

-- A study evaluating the clinical utility of Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test to screen for aneuploidies and microdeletion genetic conditions, such as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (DiGeorge syndrome), dubbed SMART, is underway. This study has enrolled 20,000 patients, and primary study results are expected in 2019. -- The Company is slated to report fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018 financial results in March.

Natera anticipates 2018 total revenue to be in the range of $250 million to $260 million. The consensus revenue estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is $256.57 million. The total revenue in 2017 was $210.9 million.

6. Mirati Therapeutics Inc. (MRTX)

Gained 13.27% to close Thursday's trading at $60.79. Mirati was trading around $4 when we alerted readers to the stock on April 19, 2017, in our report titled "Will the study results make this stock shine like an Amethyst?"

News: No news

Recent event:

On January 7, 2019, the Company announced a clinical collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the planned phase III trial in non-small cell lung cancer to evaluate Sitravatinib in combination with Opdivo.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Mirati will sponsor and fund the clinical trial and Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide Opdivo at no cost. The phase III pivotal trial is expected to start in the first half of 2019.