Investors are aware of a ripe opportunity Cell dynamicsis a late-stage biopharmaceutical company targeting drugs to treat specific heart conditions, and its stock has soared in recent months.
Cytokinetics stock is up about 69% in the past three months and 31% year-to-date. The company’s stock is one of the best-performing San Francisco-based companies profiled by CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on Power Lunch this week in the City by the Bay.
Shares soared in early September after the company announced positive results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of its lead heart drug called afficamten, a cardiac myosin inhibitor, showing improved exercise performance in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Cytokinetics is currently awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its drug, sparking intense investor interest in the company as the drug could disrupt an area dominated by publicly traded biotech giant Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Cytokinetics stock performance over the past month.
Cytokinetics originally discovered and developed drugs related to heart disease, one of which, mavacamten, was later acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2020. Under the transaction agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired the rights to use the drug in products it is developing or commercializing, and Cytokinetics received capital that it used to fund further clinical trials.
Now, Cytokinetics’ new drug is in direct competition with Bristol-Myers Squibb because it targets the same disease.
“(Bristol-Myers Squibb) is actually commercializing a drug that was discovered in our lab, but ultimately was acquired by a company that we founded. They’re selling it now, and they’re doing a great job. Patients are benefiting from it,” Blum said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” We are currently developing the next generation of medicines that can enter the same field. It is currently being submitted to the FDA for possible approval later this year. ”
Cytokinetics is funded by specialist biotechnology finance companies and uses a combination of royalty financing and partnerships to secure investment in drug development.
“In that journey, we’ve had to do a lot of things because we’ve done some financial engineering to support the billions of dollars we’ve spent to invest in research at this point and ultimately advance our portfolio of potential drugs,” Blum told CNBC. He added that heart disease is the leading reason Americans are hospitalized, especially in an aging population.
“Our pipeline, our portfolio of potential medicines for these diseases, is well-positioned to start with this first potential medicine and build an enduring business,” he said.
