ADIL On The Job, ADRO Teams Up With LLY, So Long CIVI

(RTTNews) - The following are some of today's top gainers in the pharma/biotech sector.

1. Adial Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ADIL)

Gained 23.39% to close Wednesday's (Dec.19) trading at $3.64.

News: The Company has amended its license agreement with the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, doing business as the University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Group (UVA LVG).

Pursuant to the amendment, Adial must commence its phase III clinical trial of AD04 for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder in 2019. Adial has previously announced that it plans to begin the phase III trial of AD04 in the first half of 2019.

The agreement entitles Adial exclusive, worldwide and perpetual rights to the intellectual property underlying and protecting AD04. In turn, Adial will pay a total of $1.45 million in development and approval milestones, a royalty on sales of AD04 of up to 2% with a minimum annual royalty of $40,000, and 15% of any sub-licensing revenue received from third-party sublicensees to UVA LVG.

2. Aduro BioTech Inc. (ADRO)

Gained 19.84% to close Wednesday's trading at $2.96.

News: The Company has entered into a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) to develop novel immunotherapies.

As part of the agreement, Lilly will gain access to novel molecules from Aduro that are designed to inhibit the cGAS-STING (stimulator of interferon genes) pathway.

Aduro, in turn, will receive an upfront payment of $12 million and will be eligible for development and commercial milestones up to approximately $620 million per product, as well as royalty payments in the single to low-double digits should Lilly successfully commercialize a therapy from the collaboration.

Aduro's lead drug candidate is ADU-S100, the first therapeutic in development specifically targeting the STING pathway, under phase I clinical trial as a single agent and in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Yervoy, and in a Phase 1b combination trial with spartalizumab (PDR001), an investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody. These studies are enrolling patients with cutaneously accessible, advanced/metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. ADU-S100 is being developed in collaboration with Novartis.

3. electroCore Inc. (ECOR)

electroCore is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company.

Gained 19.75% to close Wednesday's trading at $5.70.

News: No news

Recent events:

-- On November 28, the Company received FDA clearance for an expanded label for gammaCore [non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator (nVNS)] therapy for adjunctive use for the preventive treatment of cluster headache in adult patients.

GammaCore was given clearance in the U.S. for the acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in April 2017, and for acute treatment of pain associated with migraine headache in adult patients in January 2018.

-- On November 13, the Company reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Net sales in the recent third quarter declined to $150,972 from $283 thousand in the year-ago quarter. The decrease in net sales versus the third quarter of 2017 contrasts with the significant increase in prescriptions during the same period as a result of a vast majority of prescriptions being dispensed under the patient voucher and copay assistance programs, as negotiations with commercial payers for formulary coverage of gammaCore continue.

The Company expects this trend to be temporary, as increased numbers of patients are expected to obtain commercial prescription coverage for gammaCore starting in January 2019.

4. Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IDRA)

Gained 13.14% to close Wednesday's trading at $3.53.

News: No news

Recent events:

On December 14, the Company presented data from an ongoing phase II expansion of the ILLUMINATE-204 trial investigating its investigational drug Tilsotolimod in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Yervoy.

According to the trial results, 32.4% of patients evaluable for efficacy achieved partial response or better, and 76.5% of patients achieved disease control.

5. LogicBio Therapeutics Inc. (LOGC)

LogicBio is a genome editing company focused on developing medicines for rare diseases.

Gained 12.66% to close Wednesday's trading at $8.99.

News: No news

Recent events:

-- The Company went public on the Nasdaq Global Market on October 19, 2018, offering its shares at a price of $10 each.

Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:

The Company expects to file an IND for LB-001 in late-2019 and initiate a Phase 1/2 trial in methylmalonic academia, an inborn error of metabolism, shortly thereafter.

6. Civitas Solutions Inc. (CIVI)

Gained 12.15% to close Wednesday's trading at $17.54.

News: The Company is all set to be acquired by Centerbridge Partners L.P for $17.75 per share in cash, equivalent to an enterprise value of approximately $1.4 billion.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the Company's second fiscal quarter. Completion of the transaction is subject to shareholder approval, expiration or termination of waiting periods under Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and other customary closing conditions.