BST Trade Alert – July 24, 2015
Recommendation:
Buy Macrocure NASDAQ: $MCUR up to $15.00 per share.
About the Company:
Macrocure is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. Their focus is the development of a way to treat chronic and hard-to-heal wounds. These are things like diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and venous leg ulcers (VLUs).
Their approach is to treat and close chronic and other hard-to-heal wounds by injecting the human body’s own wound healing and regenerative components directly into the wound itself.
In the first quarter, research and development expenses were $5.3 million. That’s nearly doubled from a year ago as their on-going clinical trials for DFU and VLU Phase III clinical studies progress.
The company didn’t have any sales over the last 12 months. They recorded a loss of $29 million during that time. They expect to burn another $21-$25 million in 2015. They currently have $40 million in cash so they will likely need a cash infusion sometime in the next 12-18 months.
About the Drug:
CureXcell® is Macrocure’s leading drug candidate. It’s a unique combination of living human white blood cells that have been activated to facilitate the healing process and stimulate wound closure.
This treatment is designed to address each phase of healing in the impaired wound. It includes the production of growth factors and other biochemical factors involved in fibroblast activation, cell migration and extracellular matrix production, stimulating the body’s natural healing process.
They use superficial injections into a chronic wound. This allows for precise delivery of the cells into the defective wound tissue where they can be most effective. Other AWC products are applied to the surface of the wound and don’t come into direct contact with the impaired wound cells below the surface layer.
This differentiates CureXcell® from other available products. It should make it attractive to patients and healthcare providers treating hard-to-heal DFUs and VLUs without the drawbacks of currently available AWC products.
About the Market for This Drug:
Every year more than $5 billion is spent treating advanced wounds. This a large market that MCUR can tap into with this product.
About the Potential Catalyst:
CureXcell® is currently in two pivotal, Phase 3, double-blind clinical trials targeting a broad indication for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, or DFUs, and venous leg ulcers, or VLUs.
The Phase III futility analysis results for VLU are expected next month. Phase III clinical trial results for DFU are expected in October.
More importantly, Macrocure already holds product approval for CureXcell® as a medical device in Israel for the treatment of chronic and other hard-to-heal wounds. They have effectively and safely treated more than 5,000 patients in commercial or clinical study settings in Israel.
About the Shares:
MCUR is currently trading for $13.96. The stock is up 90% year-to-date.
But that’s not surprising, most clinical stage biotech stocks with a promising treatment have seen strong price increases this year.
The stock is in a strong uptrend this year. And currently 13% below the 52-week high.
Key Facts:
Company: Macrocure
Ticker: MCUR
Recent Price: $13.96
Market Cap: $232 million
Average Daily Volume: 44.19K shares
Chart:
Category: BST Trade Alert
