Biotech Stock Cytokinetics soars to decade high on heart drug promise



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Cytokinetics (CYTK) said on Monday that its experimental treatment has improved blood flow in patients with genetic heart disease, and that the biotech stockpile has reached a ten-year high.




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In today’s stock market, shares of Cytokinetics climbed 40.4% to 27 in significant volume. Biotech share reached its highest level since October 2009.

The biotech company has studied its drug, called CK-274, in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. With this disease, the heart muscle becomes unusually thick, which makes it difficult to pump blood. After 10 weeks, 92.9% of the high dose patients achieved significant improvements in blood flow. In the low dose group, 78.6% of patients achieved the same result.

Now Cytokinetics has said it is entering a Phase 3 study.

Biotech stocks reach decade high

Biotech stock analysts were quick to compare Cytokinetics’ results to MyoKardia’s. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) bought MyoKardia for $ 13.1 billion last year. MyoKardia has a rival drug called mavacamten.

A high dose of the drug from Cytokinetics reached its target in almost 93% of patients. By comparison, MyoKardia treatment reached that mark in 74% of patients, Mizuho Securities analyst Salim Syed said in a note to clients. In addition, CK-274 was faster on acting, reaching maximum benefit in six weeks compared to less than 18 weeks for mavacamten.

“At the end of the day, the data is clear, both on (effectiveness) and safety, and the CK-274 may actually be better than MyoKardia’s mavacamten,” said Syed.

Syed has a buy rating and target price of 36 on the biotech stock Cytokinetics.

Cytokinetics exceed moving averages

News of CK-274 pushed the biotech action Cytokinetics above its 50 and 200 day moving averages, according to MarketSmith.com.

This helped reverse a general downtrend that started in late April and narrowly put the biotech stock in the red for the year.

Meanwhile, Bristol Myers stock fell 1.4% to 66.36.

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.

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