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Merrimack (MACK) Starts Enrollment in Solid Tumors Study

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MACK - Free Report) announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a phase I study on MM-310 for solid tumors.

We note that the shares of Merrimack have tumbled 62.9% in the last 12 months. The fall in the share price was much steeper than the 3.4% decline witnessed by the Zacks classified Medical Biomed/Genetics market.

The study will assess the safety, pharmacology and preliminary activity of MM-310 in three parts. MM-310 will be assessed as a monotherapy until a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is established in the first stage of the study.

After the MTD of MM-310 is established, the study will include two further concurrent parts consisting of an expansion cohort as a single agent and a dose-finding phase in combination with other therapies. Merrimack expects to report data from part one of the study in 2018.

We remind investors that Merrimack has decided to sell rights of its only marketed drug Onivyde to Ipsen. Consequently, the company will now be focusing its resources on the development of its three pipeline candidates – MM-121, MM-141 and MM-310. Merrimack was heavily dependent on Onivyde for growth. Thus successful development of its pipeline candidates is essential for growth.

Moreover, Merrimack’s discontinuation of the phase I study on MM-151 and delayed investment in MM-131, MM-302 and several preclinical programs is disappointing. The delay can be attributed to the immediate unavailability of partners or funding sources for the company.

Merrimack is back to being a development-stage biopharmaceutical company. Although Onivyde’s launch was disappointing, it was the only marketed drug in Merrimack’s portfolio.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Merrimack currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Heska Corp. , Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANTH - Free Report) and Retrophin, Inc. . All the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here

Heska’s earnings estimates increased from $1.53 to $1.65 for 2017 and from $1.90 to $2.01 for 2018 over the last 30 days. The company posted a positive earnings surprise in all the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 291.54%. Its share price increased 37.2% year to date.

Anthera’s loss estimates narrowed from $1.49 to $1.17 for 2017 over the last 60 days.

Retrophin’s loss estimates narrowed from 85 cents 72 cents for 2017 and from 67 cents to 53 cents for 2018 over the last 30 days. The company posted a positive earnings surprise in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 80.55%

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