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>>> Better Buy: Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. vs. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Two beaten-down biotechs with opportunities to rebound. But which is the smarter pick for investors?



Keith Speights

May 31, 2016



http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/31/better-buy-celldex-therapeutics-inc-vs-ionis-pharm.aspx?source=yahoo-2&utm_campaign=article&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=yahoo-2



Biotech stocks haven't performed very well over the past 12 months. A couple of them have seen downright dismal results. Shareholders of Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) have watched the stock tank over 80% in the last year. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) doesn't look much better, with a drop of nearly 70% during the same period.

Despite the nasty declines recently, one of these stocks just might be a good pick at its current price. Which biotech is the better buy?

Comeback chances for Celldex

Celldex suffered one of the toughest blows any clinical-stage biotech can experience earlier this year. In March, the company announced that it was canceling the phase 3 study of Rintega. The drug intended to treat newly diagnosed brain cancer just didn't prove to be effective.

The bad news for Celldex was that much of the company's value stemmed from high expectations for Rintega. There is still potentially good news for the small biotech, though: More candidates are in Celldex's pipeline.

Glembatumumab vedotin (glemba) stands out as the brightest prospect. The drug is in a pivotal phase 2 clinical study focused on treating metastatic triple-negative breast cancers. Three other phase 2 trials are also in progress for glemba as well as one early stage study.

Celldex's varlilumab (varli) also is part of multiple clinical trials. A phase 2 study of varli in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo targeting treatment of several solid tumors is under way. Celldex also has three phase 1 studies in progress for varli.

Then there's CDX-1401, which is in a couple of clinical trials: a phase 2 study targeting treatment of metastatic melanoma and a phase 1 study focusing on ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal carcinoma. Celldex's pipeline also includes an early stage study of CDX-301 in treating b-cell lymphomas.

That's a lot of development for a clinical-stage biotech. However, Celldex has several things going for it.

First, the company had a cash stockpile (including cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities) of $254 million as of the end of first quarter. Celldex thinks that should fund operations through 2018. Second, Bristol-Myers Squibb is helping pick up the tab for the phase 2 study of the varli/Opdivo combo. Finally, six of the studies in Celldex's pipeline are investigator-sponsored trials.

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