TTNP.pk: Shares of Titan Pharmaceuticals rose over three percent on Tuesday after an early morning press release stated that the company had filed a registration statement with the SEC, bringing Titan another step closer to once again becoming a fully reporting company.
Additionally, the PR stated that Titan was expecting to receive a royalty payment for Fanapt sales in Quarter 2, 2010.
With Fanapt sales ongoing and the development of Probuphine at least in-part funded by a recent NIH grant, Titan is in the best position that it has been in years and the longer time goes on without a deal in place, the more I believe that the company may decide to 'go it alone'; although I still believe that Titan will eventually be bought out by a larger pharma if Probuphine and the ProNeura technology advance without a hitch.
For the short term, if the company is not bought out I'd expect to see a move to a major exchange once the reporting requirements are met.
2010 could be the start of a nice run for TTNP.
Disclosure: VFC is long TTNP.
SIGA: Siga Technologies issued a press release on Tuesday announcing that Israel had placed a 'mock' order for the company's ST-246(R) antiviral to combat a simulated smallpox bioterror outbreak during a recent exercise.
The PR was largely insignificant in terms of a short term price mover, although it does highlight Siga's smallpox antiviral product as an international player in bioterror.
You have to wonder if Israel will wait for the bureaucracy in Washington to play out regarding the BARDA contract before that country decides to boost its own bioterror stockpiles.
Disclosure: VFC is long SIGA.
CVM: In the developing story of Cel Sci, the company announced last week that Todd S. Burkhart was recently hired as Vice President of Manufacturing/Facilities and Commercial Operations for its manufacturing facility near Baltimore, Maryland.
The hiring comes after the recent announcement that the facility had passed an internal validation and the long awaited Multikine Phase III trial was to set to commence about mid-year 2010.
Disclosure: VFC is long CVM.