Biotechs Under a Buck

[joe_techi]

COCP- $0.32/share, Cocrystal
EXCERPT
One HCV (hepatitis C) company overlooked by the 12 SA articles already published on the Idenix/Merck deal is Cocrystal. Cocrystal's platform is based on x-ray crystallography. In one sentence, x-ray crystallography arranges large molecules in a repeating crystal lattice called a cocrsytal and then shoots x-rays at the cocrystal to take an atomic scale picture of the molecule. This picture is then used to map the molecule atom by atom and see how other molecules will fit into a weak spot in the molecule and attack it.

It should be clear how Cocrystal can use this system to synthesize antivirals. It finds highly conserved genes throughout all the genotypes of a given virus (in the case of HCV there are four main ones), maps that gene in an x-ray crystallograph atom by atom, and then synthesizes a molecule that will inhibit that gene.

This would seem like pie-in-the-sky science fiction, if not for the fact that heading the research team is Dr. Roger Kornberg, Nobel laureate in chemistry in 2006 for his work on x-ray crystallography of RNA polymerase, a transcription gene used by many viruses. Cocrystal is going after two genes in HCV: hepatitis C RNA dependent RNA polymerase, and RNA helicase, two genes the company sees as the biggest weak points in all genotypes of HCV.

Cocrystal is focusing on pursuing antivirals for three diseases. Besides HCV, it is also focusing on influenza and HRV, or human rhinovirus, AKA the common cold. Of these three, HCV is the most advanced, with preclinical testing nearly completed and the company planning to file an investigational new drug application in December (page 13), following which Phase 1 trials will begin. At that point we will find out the effectiveness of Cocrystal's research.

The influenza IND is planned for December 2015, and HRV only for December 2016. This is either because there is a lot more money and urgency in HCV, or because there are a lot less genotypes of HCV than there are of the flu or the cold. There are 99 known genotypes of HRV, and only 4 of HCV. It takes a lot more time to take and analyze x-ray crystallographs of 99 viruses than it does 4.

Cocrystal also has connections going for it as well. Followers of TEVA (NYSE:TEVA) Chairman and Opko Health (NYSE:OPK) investor Dr. Phillip Frost should be familiar with Cocrystal as the new incarnation of the corporate shell of BioZone, which was acquired by MusclePharm (OTCQB:MSLP) in January, which Frost is also invested in. Frost is behind the scenes here, so there is already a direct connection to Big Pharma in Teva. In fact, Teva funded Cocrystal's research back in 2011 to the tune of $7.5M (10-Q page 11)

Let's not forget as well that prior to being acquired by Gilead, Pharmasset had a relationship with the company through Emory University. (See 10-K linked above, page 18) Personal connections are doubtless important in big $11B deals, and will probably be a large factor in the next acquisition.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2278853-speculators-on-the-next-hcv-acquisition-should-not-overlook-technological-platforms