New York, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 3, 2014 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on smallcap and microcap public companies, today announced that it has initiated coverage on Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: MTNB), a development stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2011, with a focus on identifying and developing novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of abnormalities in blood lipids, referred to as dyslipidemia, and the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
"With a highly differentiated omega-3 product, an accelerated product development plan and a highly experienced management team in place, we view Matinas as a very attractive, unique investment opportunity in the biotech space," commented Ajay Tandon, CEO of SeeThruEquity. "We are initiating coverage with a target price of $3.78."
Additional investment highlights are as follows:
MAT9001 is a highly differentiated omega-3 fatty acid product
Matinas’ lead drug candidate, MAT9001, will be a uniquely engineered omega-3 composition, combining rarely used omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and using only trace amounts of docosahexaenoic acid DHA. Widely prescribed omega-3 prescription therapeutics are typically composed of mostly EPA and DHA. DHA has been associated with an increase in low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol. MAT9001 will have a unique mechanism of action, high potency, and it is being developed specifically for therapeutic applications in the dyslipidemia field, with severe hypertriglyceridemia (TG>500 mg/dL) as the primary indication. According to data in the most recent treatment guidelines from the National Institute of Health, approximately 16% of US adults have elevated triglyceride levels above 200 mg/dL. This amounts to more than 40 million Americans. Approximately 3% of US adults have Severe Hypertriglyceridemia, with triglyceride levels above 500 mg/dL.
Accelerated development timetable
The MAT9001 development and regulatory program for severe hypertriglyceridemia has been designed to be similar to the clinical trial programs used by other pharmaceutical companies for FDA approval of omega-3 fatty acid based products. These companies performed phase III trials only, as they were not required to perform phase I and II trials. By designing the MAT9001 program in a manner consistent with the established FDA guidance, Matinas believes the required clinical development program and regulatory approval pathway for MAT9001 for severe hypertriglyceridemia is predictable and may be relatively lower in risk compared to other typical clinical development programs in the cardiovascular field for severe hypertriglyceridemia. The company plans to initiate a phase III trial in 1H15E, and could commence the commercialization of MAT9001 as early as 2H17E or 1H18E.
Experienced management team behind other omega-3 products
Matinas is building on the extensive and proprietary research and development capabilities of its founding management team, which brings a cumulative multi-decade omega-3 pharmaceutical development and commercialization experience to the company. This same management team worked at Reliant Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) in 2007. The team played a crucial role in the development of Lovaza(R), an omega-3 fatty acid therapy for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia with over $1.1bn in reported US sales in 2013.
The report is available here: MTNB Initiation Report. SeeThruEquity is an approved equity research contributor on Thomson First Call, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Zack’s. The report will also be available on these platforms.
Please review important disclosures on our website at www.seethruequity.com.
About Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc.
Matinas BioPharma is a development stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2011, with a focus on identifying and developing novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of abnormalities in blood lipids, referred to as dyslipidemia, and the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Led by an experienced and highly successful management team and a board of directors with a history of building highly successful pharmaceutical companies, Matinas is focused on creating the next generation of omega-3-fatty-acid-based pharmaceutical products. Our lead product, MAT9001, which takes advantage of advancements in the field of lipidomics, has been specifically designed and formulated for therapeutic applications in the dyslipidemia field.
For more information, please visit www.matinasbiopharma.com.
About SeeThruEquity
SeeThruEquity is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on companies with less than $1 billion in market capitalization. The research is not paid for and is unbiased. We do not conduct any investment banking or commission based business. We are approved to contribute our research to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), Capital IQ, FactSet, Zacks and distribute our research to our database of opt-in investors. We also contribute our estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
For more information visit www.seethruequity.com.
Contact:
Ajay Tandon
SeeThruEquity
(646) 495-0939
SOURCE: SeeThruEquity