Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[entdoc]

Hypi, the balloon in shares traded, and price jump last week followed closely on news that preclinical studies (in mice) showed a difference of 17% v. 100% survival in lung cancer with irradiation therapy alone, and irradiation plus Bavi. Those who treat solid tumors like lung, breast, and liver KNOW that no amount of chemo plus any immunologic adjunct, no matter how powerful and in what combination, is going to cure or significantly dent those solid cancers. No way is Bavi giong to make a big dent. These tumors are like new bodies growing, new bodies that have to be killed. It doesn't happen with chemo plus anything. Not the case with irradiation. Irradiation fries tumors. Hiroshima-like. But it fries other tissues too. In the case of irradiation it is not a matter of frying the entire tumor, but of cleaning up the devastation from kill and "overspray". That's where Bavi helps: promoting/facilitating the scavengers (macrophages), white cells, that clean up the mess. 17% cure vs. 100%. This means that an incremental improvement in liver cancer survival is irrelevant. The big thing that matters in the liver trial is that adding Bavi does not increase side effects or morbidity. Any improvement in survival is lagniappe. No more, no less. So if there is no significant improvement in liver cancer survival, and the pps dives, is that the end? not at all. Bavi makes a lot of sense with irradiation AND surgery. Also, with chemotherapy, but the last is a last resort in any cancer therapy playbook. PS. Bavi is far from PPHM's only pipeline bullet.