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Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) Should Continue To Run This Quarter

Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) Should Continue To Run This Quarter
Written by
Chris Sandburg
Published on
February 9, 2017
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Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) is lighting up scanners everywhere, having scored gains of more than 20% mid week and looking set to pick up further strength as the week draws to a close. The driver behind the gains, however, is unclear. Readers who have been with us for a while will remember this company staging something remarkably similar this time last year.We picked up on it back then, and detailed our thoughts on the situation is this article. Basically, we suggested that a combination of some technical inputs (a double bottom at long term lows) and an improvement in sentiment (insider buying and optimism ahead of clinical trial updates) was boosting the stock.So what's happening this time around?Well, likely much of the same.Atossa has been subject to some pretty weak sentiment over the last six months or so. A reverse split that took place back in August didn’t help things, and a slow uptake in the enrollment process of a trial investigating the company's lead development asset – an oncology therapy called fulvestrant – compounded the pressure.For those new to this one, the company has developed the above mentioned fulvestrant for delivery through a micro catheter, and is working towards a commercialization approval in a breast cancer indication. The active compound is already approved and marketed by AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN), but Atossa is trying to improve on the delivery to – in turn – improve on efficacy in a breast cancer indication, and therein lies the majority of its current value proposal.The thing is, as mentioned, uptake in the study has not been great. Breast cancer is common, but current standards of care (when caught pre-metastasis) are relatively effective. This makes it difficult to persuade patients to step over into an experimental study, and even in the case of Atossa, where the active compound is already approved, it's a slow burn enrollment process.This has meant that the company is delayed on bringing its study to completion, having kicked it off back in March last year. Enrollment is only 30, but even that has proven tough. The trial is initially slated for primary completion this March, and study completion should theoretically come in September. Chances are, however, we're looking at a minimum one quarter delay on these timeframes.With that said, the company just made an announcement that we think might speed this process up, and might put an outside limit on the potential for delays. In turn, we think this announcement is what is buoying sentiment right now, and boosting Atossa's PPS.Specifically, Atossa just announced that the study's principal investigator, Dr. Sheldon M. Feldman, M.D, has relocated from Columbia University to Montefiore Medical Center in New York. In line with this move, the announcement detailed that the study is following its principal, and will pick up in Montefiore this month. Feldman will be taking the position of Chief, Division of Breast Surgery & Breast Surgical Oncology, Director, Breast Cancer Services, and Professor, Department of Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center, which is the university hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The network at the new location consists of eleven hospitals; a primary and specialty care network of more than 180 locations across Westchester County, the lower Hudson Valley and the Bronx; an extended care facility; the Montefiore School of Nursing, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. That's a large network, and should give Feldman (and in turn, Atossa) a huge sample from which it can draw patients to enroll on the study.Generally, the transition of a study from one location to another is seen as a negative development. Based on cost implications, time added, that sort of thing, it's not usually a good sign. In this instance, however, the situation is a little different. The trial was simply not enrolling fast enough at the previous location, and while the move is driven by an HR transfer primarily, as opposed to the trial itself being the driver, it looks as though this should jump start enrollment and push the trial through to completion. Sure, we're probably still going to see some delay, but it could have been much worse.We think this one will continue to run throughout mid to late 2017 as the company makes good on its trial deadlines, and drives shareholder value with data that underpins a pivotal trial protocol.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on ATOS sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in ATOS and have not been compensated for this article.

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