Seres Therapeutics' Stock Up As SER-109 Moves To Phase III

Shares of Seres Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRB) went up by more than 5% on Monday, after it announced that its lead pipeline candidate, SER-109, has moved into late-stage development for the treatment of multiply recurrent C. difficile infection.

The small biotech announced that it has commenced phase III study (ECOSPOR III) for SER-109 following interations with the FDA.
Seres’ share price has increased 5.9% year to date compared with the Zacks classified Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry’s gain of 2.2%.

The ECOSPOR III study is expected to enroll about 320 patients. The study will be randomized 1:1 to either SER-109 or placebo. The primary end point of the study will compare the reduction of C. difficile recurrence rates in patients who receive SER-109 compared with placebo at up to eight weeks after dosing.

The company believes that the single ECOSPOR III study will be instrumental for obtaining approval of SER-109. If approved on a timely basis, SER-109 could be the first drug approved for patients with multiply recurrent C. difficile infection.

With the initiation of ECOSPOR III study Seres is entitled to receive a $20 million milestone payment from its partner Nestle Health Science. Seres along with Nestle also plans to get SER-109 approved in Europe by expediting its interactions with European regulatory agencies.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Seres carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in health care sector include VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) , MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEIP) and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) . While VIVUS and MEI Pharma sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sanofi carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VIVUS’ loss per share estimates narrowed from 502 cents to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in all four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 233.69%. The share price of the company increased 0.9% year to date.

MEI Pharma’s estimates moved up from loss per share of 1 cent to gain per share of the same for 2017, over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters, with average beat of 66.56%. The share price of the company increased 28.5% year to date.

Sanofi’s earnings per share estimates increased from $3.08 to $3.18 for 2017 and from $3.26 to $3.30 for 2018 over last 30 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in two of four trailing quarters, with average beat of 5.10%. The share price of the company increased 17.6% year to date.

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