March 12, 2026 4:55pm

Even good news pressured share pricing; suffering from more of the on-going econ and oil infections

Selling was broad on Thursday, with banks, cell and gene therapy sector and tech stocks in the toilet with worries about rising inflation as oil prices surged, with no indication of when the Strait of Hormuz, at a standstill due to the Iran war, would re-open

Good to start nibling/buying the down sliders

News: 3 below

RMi collects, curates, interprets and disseminates cell and gene therapy sector (C&GT) fact-based news, trustable and verified intel of share pricing data bridging the gap to an investment decision

Never leave a retail investor uninformed!  It’s not always time to buy or sell; but it is time to KNOW why!

I write this blog/newsletter to inform investors with facts and supporting numbers focused on what they need to hear that others will not say or write about – facts in evidence!  I’m NOT at all writing a doom-and-gloom predictions as I am more frequently right than consequentially wrong; I am mostly EARLY in my prognostications!

RMi Research Note: Harvard Apparatus GT (OTCQB: HRGN): A new financing attempt, barely fulfills the need of a PPM raise … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/13812

I chose to speak-up when many analysts, brokers and commentators have shut-up!

 

News:

 Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR -$0.15 or -0.45% to $33.42) announced additional analyses and new functional outcomes data from the P3 HOPE-3 clinical trial of Deramiocel in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Deramiocel BLA currently under FDA review with a PDUFA target action date of August 22, 2026

AxoGen (AXGN -$0.53 or -1.64% to $31.76) a newly secured Biologics License Application (BLA) approval has preserved its ability to serve patients across a broad range of peripheral nerve repair needs, while also helping address remaining reimbursement and coverage barriers that have affected adoption. AXGN has submitted updated evidence to address prior payer concerns and is awaiting decisions from three major commercial insurers, while CMS recently unbundled nerve procedures, created a dedicated nerve code and increased outpatient payments.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (RARE -$0.50 or -2.25% to $21.71) announced positive results from its P3 Enh3ance study of DTX301, an investigational AAV8 gene therapy for the treatment of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. At Week 36 in the randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled period of the trial, DTX301-treated patients (n=18) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful 18% (p=0.018) reduction in 24-hour plasma ammonia (AUC0-24) compared to placebo (n=19) and maintained average ammonia AUC0-24 in the normal range through Week 36. 8 of 9 patients with abnormal ammonia AUC0-24 at baseline, despite optimal current drug treatment and diet restriction, reached normal ammonia levels rapidly, which were generally maintained during this treatment period.

 

Thursday: The Dow closed DOWN -739.42 points or -1.56%, the S&P closed DOWN -103.18 points or -1.52% while the Nasdaq closed DOWN -404.155 points or -1.78%

  • Theme of the session: oil prices added to supply disruption worries while the Iran conflagration continues. Iran’s strategy of sowing economic chaos in the Gulf is working as tankers come under attack and Hormuz stays shuttered

Thursday’s (my) 40-company covered sector’s advance/decline line opened negative with 5 incliners, 32 decliners and 3 flats, ending with a negative close of 1 incliner, 36 decliners and 3 flats

  • The C&GT sector is STILL succumbing to short-termitis

Henry’omics: We need to more than consider the macro-economic environment to comprehend the cause and effect of the macro versus micro data affecting “our” universe of cell and gene therapy (C&GT) sector

  • Jobless claims were little changed from last week …. Initial filings for unemployment claims were at a seasonally adjusted 213,000 for the week ended March 7, down 1,000 from the prior period and below the consensus estimate for 215,000. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, fell by 21,000 to 1.85 M.
  • The trade imbalance slid to $54.5 B, down $18.4 B from the prior month and well below the forecast for $67 B. The figures cover the period prior to the Supreme Court decision that struck down many of the tariffs that President Trump had ordered.
  • In housing, building permits for January were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.38 M, a drop of 5.4% from December and below the estimate for 1.41 M. However, new construction came in at an annualized rate of 1.49 M, a 7.2% monthly increase and higher than the 1.35 M forecasts.

The CBOE Fear (VIX) index, Thursday closed at 27.27, after Wednesday’s 24.31, Tuesday’s 25.46, Monday’s 25.54, after Friday’s 20.49, Thursday’s 23.64 and last Wednesday’s 21.15,

Metrics: Thursday …

  • The RUT was down -53.91 points or -2.12%,
  • The XLV was down -2.69 points or -1.76%,
  • The NBI was down -159.11 points or -2.69%;
  • The XBI was down -3.75 points or -2.97%
  • The IWM was down -5.43 or -2.15%;
  • The IBB was down -4.64 points or -2.72%,
  • The VIX was up +3.04 points or +12.56% at to 27.27

 

Q1/26 – March – 3 positive and 6 negative closes

  • February – 1 holiday, 8 negative and 11 positive sessions
  • January – 2 holidays, 2 neutral, 9 negative and 9 positive closes

Q4/25 …

  • December – 1 holiday, 8 positive and 14 negative closes
  • November – 1 holiday, 8 positive and 11 negative closes
  • October -1 neutral, 11 positive and 12 negative closes

 

Thursday Closing UP (1 of 1) 

Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR +$0.02)

Flat (3)

  • Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI)
  • Generation Bio (GBIO) – acquired
  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)

Thursday’s Closing DOWN (10 of 36): 

  • Vertex (VRTX -$14.25 after Wednesday’s -$6.79 after Tuesday’s +$38.30 after Monday’s +$4.18),              
  • IQAI Holdings (IQV -$8.64 after Wednesday’s +$0.69 after Tuesday’s -$7.64 after Monday’s +$4.06),
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$3.20 after Wednesday’s -$1.95 after Tuesday’s -$1.21 after Monday’s +$2.93),
  • Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR -$3.09 after Wednesday’s -$1.10 after Tuesday’s -$1.47),
  • Supernus Therapeutics (SUPN -$2.76),
  • Moderna (MRNA -$2.58 after Wednesday’s +$0.99 after Tuesday’s -$0.76 after Monday’s +$3.22),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$2.45 after Wednesday’s -$0.87 after Tuesday’s +$0.30 after Monday’s +$1.32),
  • Dyne Therapeutics (DYN -$1.93 after Wednesday’s +$0.21 after Tuesday’s +$2.09 after Monday’s+$2.83),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -$1.06 after Wednesday’s -$2.87),
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS -$0.86 after Wednesday’s+$0.34 after Tuesday’s -$1.23),

 

The Bottom Line: More of the … WHY

Whacked by econs and oil …

Indexes moved firmly lower on Thursday, resuming an Iran war-fueled sell-off as oil prices pressed higher amid signs that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East, further threatening to disrupt energy supplies.

  • The Dow sank around -1.5%, for a 3rd straight down, the Nasdaq fell by -1.7%, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.5%.

On the macro front, initial jobless claims held steady week-over-week. Labor Department data showed that 213,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Mar. 7, below economists' expectations.

  • Given the latest CPI inflation reading met expectations on Wednesday, the Fed is seen as likely to hold interest rates steady at its meeting next week, as uncertainty around the impact of higher oil prices on inflation prompts caution.
  • The February reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, will provide more input when it's released on Friday. <Yahoo Finance>

 

Some bad:  A German life sciences company’s global site closures and layoffs … Evotec (Nasdaq: EVO) has laid out a plan to close 4 additional sites over the next two years and lay off roughly 800 workers in the process.

  • The new site closures come on top of cuts Evotec has already been making going from 19 to 14 sites between 2024 and 2025. In two years, it will be down to 10 locations.
  • EVQ specializes in drug discovery and preclinical development. Within that, Cyprotex works with different industries, including in the pharma and chemical space, to predict the human exposure, clinical efficacy, and toxicological outcome of a drug or chemical.

Earnings release dates: soon to be catching up

  • Tuesday - 2/24 – AxoGen (AXGN), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) and Supernus Therapeutics (SUPN)
  • Wednesday – 2/25 – MiMedx (MDXG), Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT)
  • Thursday – 2/26 – Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Wave Life Sciences (WVE), Vericel (VCEL) and BioLife Solutions (BLFS)
  • Monday - 3/2 – Dyne Therapeutics (DYN)
  • Thursday – 3/5 – Regenxbio (RGNX), Compass therapeutics (CMPX)
  • Thursday – 3/12 – Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR)
  • Monday – 3/16 – Agenus (AGEN)
  • Wednesday – 3/25 – Precigen (PGEN)

 

RISK is always a factor remaining below the surface …  boiled-up as with shocks of profiteering on upsides shakes but not rocks the C&GT sector and markets!

  • As I had also written, cash is king for investors who want to keep some liquidity and avoid having to sell in a down market,

 

March – 2nd week

  • 3/12 – Thursday closed negative with 1 incliner, 36 decliners and 3 flats
  • 3/11 - Wednesday closed negative with 11 incliners, 26 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/10 - Tuesday closed positive with 21 incliners, 16 decliners and 3 flats
  • 3/9 - Monday closed positive with 35 incliners, 2 decliners and 3 flats

March – 1st week

  • 3/6 - Friday closed negative with 14 incliners, 24 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/5 – Thursday closed negative with 7 incliners, 32 decliners and 1 flat
  • 3 /4 – Wednesday closed positive with 32 incliners, 6 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/3 - Tuesday closed negative with 2 incliners, 36 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/2 - Monday closed negative with 15 incliners, 23 decliners and 3 flats

 

As the leading voice of cell and gene therapy investors; I am NOT always a doom and gloom analyst/journalist but a man who has been “there” (BUY, SELL, VC and multiple operating roles) with the gray hair and a readership following with real numbers to prove it!

 

Why do I keep repeating, framed in a different para, so investors can make the connection

The top three (3) performing in the session:    Winners

  • Thursday: Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR)
  • Wednesday: BioNTech (BNTX), AxoGen (AXGN) and Moderna (MRNA)
  • Tuesday: Vertex (VRTX), Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) and Dyne Therapeutics (DYN)
  • Monday: Vertex (VRTX), IQIA Holdings (IQV) and UniQure NV (QURE)

The worst three (3) in the session: Losers

  • Thursday: Vertex (VRTX), IQIA Holdings (IQV) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)
  • Wednesday: Vertex (VRTX), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)
  • Tuesday: BioNTech (BNTX), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and IQIA Holdings (IQV)
  • Monday: Mesoblast (MESO) and Compass Therapeutics (CMPX)

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice. Whether information or intelligence is good, bad, or somewhere in between; I put into context what is relevant and useful for investors.  All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

Henry McCusker, the editor, and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication. Regulation Analyst Certification (Reg AC):

The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this report certifies the following under Reg AC: I hereby certify that all views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company or companies and it’s or their securities. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.