Aratana Therapeutics Inc (fka PETX)

[ClayTrader]

* * $PETX Video Chart 04-26-2019 * *

Link to Video - click here to watch the technical chart video

[whytestocks]

News: $PETX ALERT: Rowley Law PLLC is Investigating Proposed Acquisition of Aratana Therapeutics, Inc.

NEW YORK , April 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Rowley Law PLLC is investigating potential claims against Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETX) and its board of directors for breach of fiduciary duty concerning the proposed acquisition of the company by Elanco Animal Health Incorporate...

Read the whole news https://marketwirenews.com/news-releases/alert-rowley-law-pllc-is-investigating-proposed-acquisition-of-aratana-therapeutics-inc--8067042.html

[whytestocks]

News: $PETX Elanco Announces Agreement to Acquire Aratana Therapeutics; Completes Oncology Development Agreement with VetDC, Creates Specialty Veterinary Business Focus

Elanco announces investor call for 9:00 am today Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PETX), a pet therapeutics company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for dogs and cats, a...

Read the whole news https://marketwirenews.com/news-releases/elanco-announces-agreement-to-acquire-aratana-therapeutics-completes-oncology-development-agreement-with-vetdc-creates-specialty-veterinary-business-focus-8064324.html

[whytestocks]

News: $PETX Aratana Therapeutics to be Acquired by Elanco Animal Health

LEAWOOD, Kan. , April 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PETX), a pet therapeutics company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for dogs and cats, announced it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN)...

Got this from https://marketwirenews.com/news-releases/aratana-therapeutics-to-be-acquired-by-elanco-animal-health-8064326.html

[Wildbilly]

I notified Admin so his passing can be properly acknowledged with a black ribbon on his profile, I would want the same.

https://strong-burnsandsprock.com/tribute/details/1830/Terence-Hallinan/obituary.html

[biotech_researcher]

My condolences. He use to post here quite often mentioning that one of the PETX compounds gave his trusty companion of many years a new life..

[raja48185]

If I am not mistaken Terry is RIP.

[biotech_researcher]

INTL, there is no upside, high risk:

Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PETX): Q4 GAAP EPS of -$0.18.
• Revenue of $4.91M (-53.1% Y/Y) misses by $1.61M.

[biotech_researcher]

Terry, give it up:

Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PETX): Q4 GAAP EPS of -$0.18.
• Revenue of $4.91M (-53.1% Y/Y) misses by $1.61M.

You may be the only customer..

[biotech_researcher]

Dead as a doorknob.....

[INTL]

Bargain basement play. Big upside. Low risk / high reward.

[INTL]

Activist takeover rumors. Big upside potential. Still under radar.

[Livinginawesometown]

New CEO and Engaged Capital back in. Excellent news. I’m expecting good things to come soon.

[Garcimore00]

Potential takeover rumors

[TheKobra]

What is happening folks

[Livinginawesometown]

Part of his sweet $2.8MM annual comp package.

[biotech_researcher]

Aratana Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PETX) CEO Peter Steven St sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.06, for a total value of $454,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 574,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,479,851.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

[terry hallinan]

Invasion of the body snatchers.

Another "activist" fund that took a hefty [~40%] position in a wild biotech spinoff that is fixing to cure aging headed by the scientist that discovered telomeres responsible for aging. This is before all the paperwork is done, details negotiated, etc.

Scared me but a close look at the fund shows they are quite deeply involved already with greatly accomplished scientists rather than junior MBA's.

Maybe PETX's "partnership" will be very good or even neutral but I consider the MBA's more likely overhead burden than fuel.

We will see.

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

Invasion of the body snatchers.

Another "activist" fund that took a hefty [~40%] position in a wild biotech spinoff that is fixing to cure aging headed by the scientist that discovered telomeres responsible for aging. This is before all the paperwork is done, details negotiated, etc.

Scared me but a close look at the fund shows they are quite deeply involved already with greatly accomplished scientists rather than junior MBA's.

Maybe PETX's "partnership" will be very good or even neutral but I consider the MBA's more likely overhead burden than fuel.

We will see.

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

• Engaged Capital updates on its portfolio holdings as of the end of Q2.
• The activist investor reports new stakes in Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC), Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) and Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN), as well as boosted stakes in Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG), SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL), Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE), Babcock & WIlcox (NYSE:BW), NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR) and Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PETX)

[terry hallinan]

Aratana Therapeutics (PETX)

Engaged Capital bought 842,312 shares of the pet therapeutics company from July 31 through August 7 at prices ranging from $4.22 to $4.98 per share, increasing its stake to 3,242,312 shares or 6.8% of the outstanding stock.

Engaged had entered into a cooperation agreement with the issuer in May, with the company agreeing to appoint two designees of Engaged to its board and establish an ad hoc strategic review committee.

from Dow Jones as reported by broker 8/10/18

I am less than enthusiastic about the fact. There was futile resistance by PETX.

My own worthless opinion is that while the news may attract more new buyers the relationship is not likely salubrious longer term.

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

Darn nice bounce from the earnings release low...

[terry hallinan]

Blue, Biotech;

This is from a transcript of the earnings teleconference from St. Peter, PETX CEO:

Regarding our second quarter 2018 financial results, as reported in our earnings release issued last evening, our total net revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $4.9 million. This compares to $5.2 million in the second quarter of 2017 which as a reminder included $3.7 million in product sales of the GALLIPRANT finished goods to Elanco.

Nothing to go wild over but PETX's own sales look a smidgen better.

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

Blue, I review Aratana’s PR, and your post is a little off. Only $3.1 million of actual revenue was booked in Q2. $1.9 million was licensing and collaboration. Organic sales dropped much worse..

“In the second quarter of 2018, the Company recognized $1.8 million in net product sales of NOCITA, $1.3 million in net product sales of ENTYCE and $1.9 million in licensing and collaboration revenue from Elanco for GALLIPRANT.”

[biotech_researcher]

Blue, my point is these sales numbers are not getting it done. Tiny. With a revolutionary new product, it should be off to the races.. Mr. Market’s tepid reaction confirms this.

[BlueRayn]

Not confused at all. Subtract $3.7Mil to Elanco and you have $1.5Mil in the 2nd qtr of 2017. The same qtr of 2018 you have $4.9Mil. That is a big jump even if you add a hypothetical $1Mil in licensing payment to 2nd qtr of 2017 would take it only to $2.5Mil compared to the $4.9Mil now reported. Simple math

[biotech_researcher]

I’m looking to re-enter PETX again. I bought a nice position in January 2016 in the $4’s but liquidated the position in July 2016 in the $7’s due to the rapid rise up. Organic sales growth is slow..$4.6 Million in Q2 2018 is kind of lethargic. Profitability is still going to be in the distance as well as analysts consensus is for a loss of $.36 in 2019.. Mr Market appears to agree as the share price is approaching the lows set in January 2016. We are not there yet..

[biotech_researcher]

Blue, you maybe confused as here is the PR:

The second quarter 2018 net loss was $6.4 million or $0.14 diluted loss per share compared to a net loss of $10.4 million or $0.26 diluted loss per share for the corresponding quarter of 2017. Aratana reported $4.9 million in net revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to $5.2 million in net revenues in the second quarter of 2017. In the second quarter of 2018, the Company recognized $1.8 million in net product sales of NOCITA, $1.3 million in net product sales of ENTYCE and $1.9 million in licensing and collaboration revenue from Elanco for GALLIPRANT. In comparison, net revenues in the second quarter of 2017 included $3.7 million in product sales of finished goods sold to Elanco, $0.8 million in licensing and collaboration revenue from Elanco for GALLIPRANT and $0.6 million in net product sales of NOCITA.

[terry hallinan]

With quarterly revenue declining in Q2 5% from a year ago, this is now an unmitigated disaster. These new approved drugs should be generating 80% revenue growth year over year from these small bases. The Docs aren’t promoting PETX’s compounds..

Strange, BR, I have a very different angle on it with my rose-colored glasses on.

As you must know I concentrate on Galliprant because of the huge relief for our dog, who was a goner without the drug.

Aratana recorded $1.9 million in licensing and collaboration revenue in the second quarter of 2018 for GALLIPRANT(R) (grapiprant tablets), which was generated from Elanco Animal Health (a division of Eli Lilly & Co.) recording approximately $10 million in net product sales. According to third-party market research conducted in June 2018, GALLIPRANT, which is for the control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs, continues to grow market share in a competitive category and is the second-leading NSAID prescribed by veterinarians. Assuming GALLIPRANT quarterly sales trends remain consistent, Aratana expects to achieve a $15.0 million commercial milestone in 2018.

Pisses me off they call Galliprant an NSAID. It is the only drug, steroid or NSAID, I can find for the worn out condition of osteoarthritis that does not shut off the flow of lubricants to the joints but instead increases them. My wife would love to be young again with such a drug. Anyway it's a life-saver.

Hopefully the sarcoma drug will be another big winner whenever the rubes at the Agriculture Department approve it. I think it's when, not if, from published results and talks outside of PETX.

Unlike the cancer drug, it seems PETX could have a HUGE winner with worldwide human development of Galliprant drug.

Am I just blowing smoke? Gave up smoking years ago.

We have much more riding on the EP4 receptor antagonist than filthy lucre. My wife has an appointment finally with a rheumatologist Monday to get a better diagnosis. My little sister has osteo and rheumotoid arthritis alongside severe osteoporosis that killed our mother and older half-sister but she is now planning a return trip to Africa. I have to help my wife dress.

Maybe I can be forgiven my enthusiasm for Galliprant.

All the best to you and yours.

Best, Terry

[BlueRayn]

What? The qtrly rev drop was due to the mfg transfer to Elanco. Think about it.

[biotech_researcher]

With quarterly revenue declining in Q2 5% from a year ago, this is now an unmitigated disaster. These new approved drugs should be generating 80% revenue growth year over year from these small bases. The Docs aren’t promoting PETX’s compounds..

[terry hallinan]

New Fans Update.

When we first tried to get a prescription for Galliprant it was a challenge in our remote location in upstate NY.

Nobody knew anything about the drug and we could only buy it mail order with prescription. The dog was a pitiful basket case and a routine drug was generally useless with enormous pain continuing from arthritis.

My wife just got back with glowing reports from a mandatory check up, news other dogs were now on the drug and doing great as well.

Eli Lilly is now pushing the drug offshore as well as in the U.S.

I expect at least the marketing of Galliprant to be sweet reading in the future and hardly the only arrow in PETX's quiver.

We all know the finances are - difficult - and I am personally appalled by the "help" from an "activist fund" but I have my rose-colored glasses firmly in place.

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

PETX appears to have no fans.

Is there something better than a forlorn loser with enormous prospects?

- Yes, one with excellent funding. I am not enchanted by the "activist fund" which smells more like a parasite to me but there is evidence of funding. Maybe it's all good.

It seems sales should be rising substantially but the supply chain is not as easy to figure as, say, a pet food store.

Entyce seems to me likely a real winner when it gets a break. The osteosarcoma drug should be great.

I am pinning a lot of hope on the arthritis drug as you know, with all sorts of scenarios possible but obviously my enthusiasm is pretty much mine alone.

I guess we will see in time.

Best, terry

[biotech_researcher]

PETX appears to have no fans.. The sales results in Q2 should be telling...

[terry hallinan]

Prostaglandin E2 Exerts Catabolic Effects in Osteoarthritis Cartilage: Evidence for Signaling via the EP4 Receptor

https://tinyurl.com/ycsu9yfk

Yeah, I know real fun reading but PETX's drug for dog's osteoarthritis has been around for a very long time and even Wikipedia has a puff piece on it.

Elevated levels of PGE(2) have been reported in synovial fluid and cartilage from patients with osteoarthritis (OA). However, the functions of PGE(2) in cartilage metabolism have not previously been studied in detail. To do so, we cultured cartilage explants, obtained from patients undergoing knee replacement surgery for advanced OA...

Quantitative PCR screening of nondiseased and end-stage human knee OA articular cartilage specimens revealed that the PGE(2) receptor EP4 was up-regulated in OA cartilage. Moreover, blocking the EP4 receptor (EP4 antagonist, AH23848) mimicked celecoxib by inhibiting MMP-13, ADAMST-5 expression, and proteoglycan degradation. These results suggest that PGE(2) inhibits proteoglycan synthesis and stimulates matrix degradation in OA chondrocytes via the EP4 receptor. Targeting EP4, rather than cyclooxygenase 2, could represent a future strategy for OA disease modification.

So why did only PETX get around to making daily doses of an EP4 antagonist that convert tired old bones and destroyed cartilage healthy again [kind of - our Border Collie still has obvious evidence of arthritis but she is not inhibited or pained at all despite the enormous energy of the breed]?

The only answer I have found is that the receptor is very complex and then those knee and hip replacements make a lot of money for surgeons.

I suspect the osteosarcoma drug will make more of a splash whenever the Ag delinquents get around to approving it but EP4 receptor antagonist may be the greater moneymaker.

Just dreaming. My wife is really crippled with osteo and very resistant to a knee replacement.

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

Aratana Therapeutics Files for FDA Approval of NOCITA® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) Label Expansion

-

We believe veterinarians are in need of safe and effective, non-opioid alternatives to provide pain relief to their feline and canine patients" explained Ernst Heinen, DVM, PhD, Chief Development Officer of Aratana Therapeutics.

https://tinyurl.com/yb3gtuy9

Why, Doc? The cats hardly speak to us - they are just too high and mighty except the general often yowls at night like an alley cat - and the dogs would take a biscuit anytime over a snort even from a behind.

We harbor no addicts except for our Border Collie on Galliprant. Saved her life but she still prefers biscuits.

Dogs and cats aren't as dumb as people.

Thanks, Doc

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

Yes, I wondered about Lowell as well. But, then again, I realized that Mrs. Robinson had the business smarts in the family....

[terry hallinan]

Aratana Therapeutics Appoints Craig Barbarosh and Lowell Robinson to its Board of Directors in Cooperation Agreement with Engaged Capital

Mr. Robinson...previously served on the boards of The Metropolitan Opera Guild, The Smithsonian Libraries and the University of Wisconsin School of Business. Mr. Robinson earned his M.B.A. from Harvard...

I was almost getting to like that clown until they let the cat out of the bag, telling us Mr. Robinson was just another modern Sophist taking half-baked leadership training from the worst of the lot. Harvard seems to train more of these undertakers for business than all the other schools combined.

A pall grows over PETX but it looks like the CEO escaped the worst that might have been. PETX might even survive,

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

Not a single large successful company was a sellout.

Sure the vultures gather when they smell success and maybe Aratana will sellout but it is nothing like the best way to success.

I am still awed by Merck paying $1.3B for a second-rate antisense biotech with a horrendous record of failure and still in early clinical stages. It took about a year for Merck to abandon the entire field.

Barron's way back when it was worth reading regularly laughed at another terrible flop by a JNJ acquisition. Even I got saved from a calamity. Bizarre was the failure of JNJ in acquisitions despite excellent management for a dumbo otherwise.

When you get around to it, kindly explain why Aratana succeeded brilliantly with that EP4 receptor that has been around for a long time. Even the Japanese company whose position in the receptor Aratana licensed had nothing on or near market from appearances.

The giant pharmaceuticals depend on innovation from the tiny tykes. Way it has always been. Does nobody read Adam Smith these days? Do people even know who he was?

JMO.

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

PETX- This is what PETX needs.They need to be acquired to realize their full potential..

[BlueRayn]

Quote:”The Activist Spotlight

Aratana Therapeutics (PETX)
Business: develops and commercializes biopharmaceuticals for pets
Stock Market Value: $232 million ($5.07/share)
Investor’s Avg Cost: $5.00/share
What’s Happening:Engaged Capital has nominated three candidates for the board at the 2018 annual meeting.

Key Numbers:
$12 million: money raised by PETX last quarter by selling small lots of shares through brokers
$10 million:the amount of the $12 million raised by PETX that likely came from Engaged
5.2%: PETX common shares owned by Engaged

Behind the Scenes: Aratana is one of the few businesses in the pet-care industry that, as an independent entity, is successfully commercializing drugs. It has three early-stage drugs currently being marketed, with several more in the pipeline. While there is a lot of potential here, Aratana is not yet cash-flow positive, and only has about 12 months of cash left. That’s created a lot of concern among the shareholders.

Engaged has nominated one director with bankruptcy experience, one with industry experience, and one with operating experience. The directors will have two objectives: first, streamlining operations and holding management accountable to stretch the remaining cash as long as possible; and second, instilling a sense of urgency in management about exploring a sale of the company so they do not end up in a fire sale, running out of cash.

Aratana could be an attractive acquisition for a larger pharmaceutical company such as Eli Lilly, Zoetis, Bayer, Merck, or Sanofi, who can eliminate corporate overhead, easily absorb other expenses, and leverage its infrastructure to market the acquired drugs.

-- Kenneth Squire”

[BlueRayn]

Engage Capital seeks 3 BD Seats and wants Aratana to explore Sale of Company

https://www.barrons.com/articles/engaged-capital-wants-seats-on-the-board-of-aratana-therapeutics-1525478402

[terry hallinan]

Apologize in advance for length of message but hopefully it is meaningful and not remotely off topic.

Straight from the horse's mouth:

Back when men were men and science was science - or something like that - Dr. Edgar Ribi got FDA approval of a vaccine adjuvant for treating horse cancers without the antigen that directs the immune system to the appropriate target like an earlier human bladder vaccine.

Closing In on the Cancer Vaccine After long frustration, researchers are finally learning how to enlist the immune system to destroy tumors.

(FORTUNE Magazine)
By David Stipp
December 7, 1998

(FORTUNE Magazine) – More than a century ago doctors noticed a curious coincidence: Cancer patients' tumors sometimes shriveled after the patients contracted bacterial infections. That inspired the idea of cancer vaccines, which would stir the body's immune system to attack tumor cells as if they were germs, replicating what seemed to have happened in the lucky patients. Unlike the familiar preventive shots we get to ward off the measles, flu, and other infectious ills, cancer vaccines would be therapeutic: Doctors would administer them only after disease struck, to focus the immune system's xenophobia on the growths within....

https://tinyurl.com/yb9m7vat

Enter a pair of human elephants:

>On Tuesday, the Microsoft founder held an "Ask Me Anything" event on Reddit. When a user asked, "Do you think in the near future, we will have another financial crisis similar to the one in 2008?" Gates replied with a stern — but still optimistic — warning.

"Yes. It is hard to say when but this is a certainty," Gates said. "Fortunately we got through that one reasonably well."

Gates then deferred to his good friend and fellow billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett, saying, "Warren has talked about this and he understands this area far better than I do."<

Yah, sure, right you are, Bill.

Elephant philanthropists and philosophers like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who have made their mark, have no cares, no concerns when they step on ants like a small biotech with a real cancer cure that has vanished into the ether as even another better one is endangered by corrupt and foolish management - ADXS.

Bill and Warren were obviously weighty factors in the informal Seattle billionaire boys biotech investment club that financed the
rummage sale of Ribi Immunochem Research to an incompetent loudmouth heading up Corixa that went bankrupt.

GSK celebrates 30th anniversary of Hamilton lab site

http://bitterrootstar.com/2011/06/gsk-celebrates-30th-anniversary-of-hamilton-lab-site/

GSK picked up the only thing of value left from the crash of Corixa for pennies that recently blazed into the headlines powering the the successful malaria vaccine.

Well Dr. Ribi only used cows and horses to test his superior vaccine adjuvant and his path to fame was cut short when the doctor died in a plane crash. His company fell into the hands of clowns until GSK picked up some pieces.

Steven St. Peter, CEO of PETX, has a long way to go to prove he is made of the stuff of the ill-fated Edgar Ribi but he is showing signs of the latter.

From the transcript of the latest teleconference on the PETX 1stQ earnings report:

"In developing GALLIPRANT, we believe Aratana is the first company to validate the EP4 receptor in any species in any geography. [My emphasis] First we validated as a clinical target for pain control in OA with our FDA and EMA approvals. Second, with the impressive sales result we believe EP4 has now been validated from a commercial perspective notwithstanding the relatively competitive nature of the canine OA pain category.

However we do not believe from the research and development perspective nor from the commercial perspective that the EP4 story has been fully written. Generally in therapeutics development, a first in class therapeutic does not end up as the only in class therapeutic.

During the first quarter of 2018, Aratana expanded its pipeline to include a new generation co EP4 receptor antagonist AT-019. Our next steps with AT-019 include progressing manufacturing to support clinical development and establishing the dose. We look forward to updating you on our progress with AT-019 over time.ALLIPRANT, Aratana entered the canine osteoarthritis pain market. The canine osteoarthritis pain market is not as geographically concentrated as the CCL surgery market. I think one needs a large and more geographically dispersed sales force and the OA pain market is very competitive.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4170068-aratanas-petx-ceo-steven-st-peter-q1-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single

This small footnote to the usual dreariness of financial reports has the makings of fame and fortune IMHO.

The deleterious and pathologic actions of PGE 2 are inhibited in varying degrees by steroids, aspirin and cyclo-oxygenase inhibiting NSAIDs; however, administration of these drugs causes decreased production of PGE 2, thereby decreasing or eliminating the homeostatic functions of the molecule. By inhibiting just the EP4 receptor, the homeostatic function of PGE 2 is better maintained. This manuscript will introduce a new class of pharmaceuticals known as the piprant class.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5645826/#vms313-bib-0001

Have fun with the remainder of the abstract and lengthy scientific article as it grabs you. Just this tells me PETX is successful on the cutting edge with a very new concept in its biotech concentrating on pets. PETX has far more than another NSAID or steroid with enormous possibilities.

The growing income [prospect of income if you insist] is nice too.

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

“So why the dreadful headlines?”

Hmmm, that is a little dramatic don’t you think??

No, I don't.

I fully admit many people get sloppy sentimental over pets and other animals that can even be stomach turning. I can't possibly top the Fuhrer being a vegetarian because he couldn't stand the thought of animals being killed to be eaten.

Cancer today is the greatest killer of dogs and it is most unpleasant and to do anything about it - but we have. Have you ever talked to other people that have tried and failed to do something about it?

Usually it can only be classified as sentimental stupidity but the pain is very real.

Osteoporosis is not all that much different with some dogs put on wheels.

A beautiful German Shepherd of ours that had been a skinny, seemingly sickly remainder of a litter grew like the swan of the fairy tale that had to be a super slender purebred despite the usual "shepherd mix" label in aq shelter. The pain that came with the osteoporosis was heartbreaking and she died from it, falling down stairs.

The improvement in our Border Collie is near miraculous in our eyes.

Scoff as you wish.

For at least one dog and one company, your careless review is most unpleasant.

I thank you at least for caring.

By the way, my wife is terribly crippled by osteoporosis as well and I have spent many hours looking for hope for her too. The EP4 receptor is a great cause for hope.

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

“So why the dreadful headlines?”

Hmmm, that is a little dramatic don’t you think??

[terry hallinan]

There are obviously other treatment options available.

Oh really?

Could you then be so kind as to list all the other veterinary drugs available for overcoming dogs' loss of appetite? Ghrelin is not a new drug but the availability for dogs in an FDA-approved formula is quite new. The drug has had a lengthy and controversial history.

No one can doubt there are many drugs purporting to treat osteoporosis in dogs - a hideous killer - successfully but only one is a very promising EP4 receptor agonist that took our Border Collie mutt off a death watch. My wife says the dog is regaining a bit of the terrible energy that had her biting the heads off electrical cords like they were snakes when she was the typical Border Collie indoor tornado as pups. So far our cords seem safe but the dog biscuits aren't.

Eli Lilly subsidiary Elanco sells the Galliprant so sales by PETX are, and will remain, zero but other drugs are doing swell, as is Galliprant.

So why the dreadful headlines?

PETX CEO St. Peter claims it is a matter of inventory problems of new drugs.

Is it all a pack of lies?

- How would I know?

Best, Terry

[biotech_researcher]

Sales are going nowhere, it appears. $4 million in the last quarter won’t cut it. They should be growing sales at a much faster pace.. There are obviously other treatment options available..

[terry hallinan]

Aratana Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aratana-therapeutics-reports-first-quarter-200500768.html

On the side we have absolute proof that AI ["artificial intelligence"] is a farce. Computers can only pretend to think. The downbeat computer generated "analysis" isn't worth a used political slogan from the last campaign.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aratana-1q-earnings-snapshot-220620854.html

The shortfall in sales and earnings seems mostly the result of inventory adjustments with initial stocking of veterinary clinics.

This was a surprise to me regarding Galliprant that saved our middle-aged Border Collie/Labrador's life from the PETX PR:

GALLIPRANT, which is for the control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs, has quickly established itself as the second-leading therapeutic in a competitive category.

Our mail order supplier [the only way we can get the pills that require a veterinarian prescription but no local stores stock the drug] rated Galliprant even worse than a generic. A Minnesota cowboy offered to push my face in because I remarked on what Galliprant did for our dog while some fellow at a local university told the cowboy the regular drugs were best.

Apparently the word is getting around.

In February 2018, Aratana licensed exclusive, worldwide rights from AskAt Inc. to develop and commercialize AT-019, a potent and innovative EP4 receptor antagonist therapeutic candidate for pain, inflammation and other indications.

This is the secret sauce behind Galliprant. I expect PETX might discuss what looks to be completion of worldwide rights to the EP4 receptor antagonist that describes the MOA ["method of action"] of Galliprant that hopefully will soon be doing for humans what it does for dogs now.

Best, Terry

[terry hallinan]

[terry hallinan]

Lots up, Madman, but I am deeply prejudiced.

Galliprant saved our dog's life but we got a shock when CEO St. Peter claimed PETX "owned" the osteoarthritis indication.

I have since found there are a host of biotechs attempting to treat numerous diseases and problems by antagonizing [shutting down the production of harmful proteins] by the same EP4 receptor.

The statement about a complicated receptor was akin to calling nuclear war a dustup.

Our supplier of Galliprant by mail order that requires a prescription rates Galliprant inferior to even a generic.

Then I found a claim numerous numerous biotechs [including Eli Lilly that leased the drug to PETX?] were attempting approval of a similar drug to Galliprant antagonizing the human EP4 receptor.

My wife is badly crippled by the same arthritis as the dog and only long testing will tell if it works as well [or at all] for humans.

Whatever the case, PETX has had a string of successes that should soon make the financials great reading.

JMO.

Best, Terry