Author: Vitaliy Dadalyan

Equillium (EQ) Stock Price Target Gets a Big Boost; Here’s What You Need to Know

Headline grabbing biotechs are far from a rare sight in 2020. Nevertheless, when a little-known micro-cap pops by 730% in a single trading session, avid market followers are likely to take notice.And so to Equillium (EQ), the aforementioned little known biotech, whose shares blasted off on Monday.The rally began following the announcement that the Drugs Controller General of India – India’s equivalent of the FDA - granted Equillium's partner Biocon emergency approval for itolizumab, a treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The approval came following a 30-patient proof-of-concept trial in which the drug reduced mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients (all patients given the drug survived).The drug is currently being developed as a treatment for various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, Equillium now plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) application so it can proceed with a clinical trial of itolizumab in...

Congrats, Frequent Flyers. You Helped Save Branson

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- More than a decade ago Time magazine anointed “You” its person of the year, in recognition of our collective effort to create free content for social media.Today Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. owes a similar debt of gratitude to its long-suffering customers. The cash they’ve advanced the transatlantic airline for future bookings was every bit as important as that provided by billionaire founder Richard Branson and hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management in saving it from collapse. Issuing customer refunds at a snail’s pace helped the airline preserve cash during the pandemic but unhappy customers will make Virgin Atlantic’s recovery that much tougher.Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that Davidson Kempner will inject 170 million pounds ($213 million) in secured debt as part of a 1.2 billion pounds rescue deal. That provides an external vote of confidence. The airline’s co-owners, Branson’s Virgin Group and Delta Air Lines Inc., will forgo 400 million pounds of fees...