Thanks yehudi.
Here is a bit from that story FWIW .
I wonder why there has not been a notice yet about last Thursday’s big trade
Cheers
OPT 302... ...demonstrated that it was superior to other already advanced treatments on the market.... .... “I believe there is room for further growth as we continue to update the market on the outcomes from the trial”..... ...Many other companies, including multinational pharmaceutical companies, have failed to achieve what Opthea very successfully demonstrated with OPT-302," Dr Baldwin said... .......It was a large trial, randomised, double-blinded and it over-delivered. That's why you haven't seen 30-40 per cent upside, but 300-400 per cent."..
"We're now getting companies that are moving out of the research development phase, starting to generate revenue and having commercial products in the US market," Ms Jain said.
"Then for companies like Opthea, its re-rating came on the back of a phase 2b clinical trial done out of large centres in the US, Australia and Europe and the results were spectacular.
"It reflects a trend that more of the listed life sciences companies are maturing. The more risk that's taken off the table in terms of investment, the more reward you get."
This, Ms Jain said, had flow on effects for the sector as a whole, with positive results improving the perception of the industry.
"It's a function of the fact that this is a bit of a specialty field and it's quite technical, so there's not that many people that really understand biotech," she said.
Opthea One of the recent biotech darlings, Opthea had a market capitalisation of only $170.8 million six months ago, but earlier this month hit a high of $999 million.
The company's origins date back to 1983 when Leon Serry founded Circadian Technologies, which acted as an incubator for biomedical research projects. In 2014 it restructured to focus on developing treatments for eye diseases and Dr Megan Baldwin was appointed chief executive.
Renamed Opthea in 2015, its major focus at the moment is developing a treatment using a molecule known as OPT-302 for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).
In August it released the results of its most recent clinical trial into the use of OPT-302 for treating wet AMD, which demonstrated that it was superior to other already advanced treatments on the market.
Dr Baldwin said she was not surprised by the market reaction to the trial results.
"Many other companies, including multinational pharmaceutical companies, have failed to achieve what Opthea very successfully demonstrated with OPT-302," Dr Baldwin said.
"The Phase 2b trial was a major de-risking event for the company and given the positive data, the commercial opportunity, the scarcity of other agents in development and the comparative valuation of other international ophthalmology companies ... I believe there is room for further growth as we continue to update the market on the outcomes from the trial."
Ms Jain, who has a price target of $4.80 on the stock, agrees with Dr Baldwin, and said there are numerous milestones ahead in 2020 which could drive further upwards momentum.
She said its latest results had also put it on the radar of big pharma companies.
"It was a large trial, randomised, double-blinded and it over-delivered. That's why you haven't seen 30-40 per cent upside, but 300-400 per cent."...........
OPT Price at posting:
$3.38 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)