Scimitar Equity Blog

     The 6 W’s: Who, what, where, when, why and what of it …

Today’s Gospel:  We’re seeing sideways price action as volumes are lower. The strong broader market gains have NOT reflected any actions in RegMed universe price actions. Declining expectations and the overall negative market sentiment is still affecting this sector but, going forward these prices are … extremely cheap …IF and WHEN, catalysts become more evident.

No leaders as the NASDAQ is back up … Lower weighted green, moderate red and black (no movement) on the screen …

• Aastrom (ASTM) is UP minimally … <+$0.01 or 0.45% TO $2.25> today as profit takers skim their gains, be prepared as they re-enter. It is a pattern … momentum is pushing the shorts … who … are scrambling to keep the price … down!!

• Dendreon (DNDN)) <$0.53 or 6.01% to $9.34> is coming back from biting the tape followed by Pluristem (PSTI) is up on P2 trial approval <$0.11 or 4.95% to $2.33>; ReNeuron (RENE.) is coming back <+$0.09 or 2.27% to $4.10>.

• Cytori (CYTX) is up <+$0.09 or 4.17% to $2.25> lower volume is pushing back on the short positions as their perception is slanted to a need for financing, which I don’t believe is needed as potential catalysts are evolving and Osiris (OSIR) is up <+$0.11 or 2.46% to $4.71>

• Minimal upward moves … are BioMimetic (BMTI), BioTime (Amex: BTX); Geron (GERN), ImmunoCellular (OTC BB: IMUC), Opexa (OPXA), StemCells (STEM) and   ThermoGenesis (KOOL)

• Verastem (VSTM) took a hit yesterday – regaining position … <+$0.22 <+2.14%> to $10.50;

EconRecon: President Obama unveiled a $52B program to strengthen federal supervision of oil markets and increase penalties for market manipulation. Despite his efforts, experts say the proposal is more likely to draw sharp election-year distinctions with Republicans than … have an immediate effect on prices at the pump.

Mid-Day: The NASDAQ is UP +55.00 (+1.84%) to 3,043.30 while the Dow is UP +195.76 (+1.51%) to 13,117.17.

Mid-Day Market Commentary:Stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in … mid-day …trading on Tuesday after ending the previous session mixed. The major averages have all jumped firmly into positive territory and the NASDAQ is seeing further upside. The strength in the market is partly due to news of a successful Spanish debt auction, which has contributed to a drop in Spanish bond yields and offset some of the recently renewed concerns about the EU debt crisis.

Who is UP … Mid-day:

• Aastrom (ASTM);
• BioMimetic (BMTI);
• Cytori (CYTX);
• Dendreon (DNDN);
• Geron (GERN);
• Opexa (OPXA);
• Osiris (OSIR);
• Pluristem (PSTI);
• ReNeuron (RENE.L);
• ThermoGenesis (KOOl).

What’s new in the regenerative medicine/stem cell market … 2 … to know today …

TiGenix (NYSE Euronext: TIG) Rheumatoid Arthritis P2a study passes safety hurdle: The independent Safety Monitoring Board has approved further dosing to recruit and dose the remaining patients of this cohort.http://www.scimitarequity.com/blog/2012/04/17/tigenix-nyse-euronext-tig-rheumatoid-arthritis-p2a-study-passes-safety-hurdle-2 .  The Bottom Line:  A key milestone, the higher dose in the P2a trial in RA is safe. TIG will not be held back by any dose-limiting factors and will be able to move forward with the optimal treatment dose. But of almost equal importance is the dosing range can be expanded in other indications. With 6 months of follow-up, the current RA trial in 53 patients is expected to report meaningful results in H1 2013.

Pluristem (PSTI) FDA Clearance for P2 Trial in Intermittent Claudication (IC): FDA has granted the company clearance to start a P2 clinical trial using PLX-PAD cell product candidate for the treatment of Intermittent Claudication (IC), a subset of peripheral artery disease (PAD). http://www.scimitarequity.com/blog/2012/04/17/pluristem-psti-fda-clearance-for-p2-trial-in-intermittent-claudication-ic . The Bottom Line: The primary efficacy end point of the trial will be the change in the Maximal Walking Distance from baseline during Exercise Treadmill Test. Secondary endpoints will include hemodynamics and quality of life measurements. Safety parameters will also be assessed. What happened to the CLI trial status? PSTI has fallen 11% YTD. The shares gained 6.5% to 8.799 shekels. Intermittent Claudication (IC) is a subset of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) caused by atherosclerosis of the lower extremity arteries. IC is characterized by