U.S. equities have begun the week on a disappointing note, with all three major indexes down sharply. Market participants are cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, which kicks off on Tuesday.
While the Fed is not expected to make any changes to its monetary policy at the meeting, what the market is keenly waiting for is the Fed statement. The statement is likely to provide hints on when the Fed plans to hike rates.
The strong jobs report for the month of June has meant that a rate hike towards the end of this year is now a possibility. However, in the wake of Brexit and concerns over the state of Italian banks, it is likely that the Fed will remain dovish. That augurs well for risk assets such as equities and especially the biotechnology sector.
While the biotech sector is not driven by macroeconomic factors, it has certainly benefited from excess liquidity in global markets. Interestingly, while the broader market has edged lower in trading today, the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (ETF) (NASDAQ:IBB) is holding up well. At last check, the IBB was marginally higher.
One of the major movers in the biotech sector today is Soligenix Inc. (OTCBB:SNGX). Based in Princeton, New Jersey, Soligenix is engaged in the development and commercialization of products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need.
BioTherapeutics business segment is developing SGX301 as a first-in- class photodynamic therapy utilizing safe visible light for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, proprietary formulations of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders characterized by severe inflammation including pediatric Crohn's disease (SGX203) and acute radiation enteritis (SGX201), and the Company’s novel innate defense regulator technology dusquetide (SGX942) for the treatment of oral mucositis.
SGNX shares have fallen sharply in trading today even as the company announced the receipt of additional Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) funding to advance development of OrbeShield(R) as a medical countermeasure (MCM) for civilian and military use in treatment of gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI ARS).
Soligenix's GI ARS program is supported by contract awards from both BARDA and NIAID, totaling up to approximately $33 million with
the supplemental funding if all options are exercised. To date, exercised funds have included $7 million from NIAID and $11 million from BARDA, including all additional funds.
SNGX continues to be in a downtrend which began in mid-2015, however the rate of decline has been slowing leading us to believe that the stock may soon be in a position to stabilize and possibly even head higher in the not too distant future.
