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FOLD Edelman's Perceptive Advisors Buying Amicus Therapeutics Ahead Of Phase III Data Release

Not a SA member so I can't post the whole article itself.


Edelman's Perceptive Advisors Buying Amicus Therapeutics Ahead Of Phase III Data Release
Jul. 23, 2014 9:01 AM ET | About: Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (FOLD), Includes: ACAD, ACRX, ITMN, SRPT

Disclosure: The author is long FOLD. (More...)
Summary

One of the strongest investing strategies in the biotech sector is to follow what successful biotech funds are buying in large quantities.
Last year, we detailed some companies that a successful fund, the Baker Brothers LLC, bought. Many of their investments have been profitable to date.
In this write up, we focus on another successful fund, Perceptive Advisors, led by well-known investor Joseph Edelman.

Written by Kyle Dennis.

Investor Joseph Edelman leads Perceptive Advisors and since 1999 the fund has returned an annualized 30.2%. Last year, the fund returned about 48%. Edelman works with six biotech analysts to find companies that can be huge winners. The fund's strategy focuses on finding the right products, as Edelman states:

"The critical thing we are doing is evaluating the science and the data to decide whether a drug will work and whether it will be approved. If we think there is a higher probability that a drug will work than the Street does, we may have a long on that position."

Perceptive's most recent buy is Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FOLD). The fund bought 8,339,444 shares on May 29 and then again added another 4 million shares on June 30. The 4 million additional shares were added on the day that Amicus announced trial updates and analysis plan for its Phase III Fabry Monotherapy Study 012. Additionally, the company's CEO John Crowley added shares a few weeks before Perceptive.
Company History and Pipeline

Amicus is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for rare and orphan diseases, specifically Lysosomal Storage Disorders. The company's drug furthest along in development is Migalastat for Fabry's Disease.

Fabry's Disease is a deficiency of lysosomal enzyme alpha-galactosidase A. The leading causes of death for the disease are renal failure, cardiac failure, and stroke.

Amicus has been on a rough road for the last couple of years. Many biotech analysts (including us) were expecting the company to present positive Phase III data in late 2012. However, the company surprisingly disappointed investors and announced the study did not meet primary endpoints. Later, partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) gave up co-commercialization and co-development rights on the drug..."