TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAZ) announced further progress on Thursday in its Phase 1a clinical trial of TTX-MC138 in patients with metastatic cancer.
To date, 13 patients have received at least one dose of TTX-MC138 at four separate dose levels ranging from 0.8 mg/kg to 4.8 mg/kg. Two patients have been treated in the expanded enrollment.
Eight patients remain on the study for continued treatment, receiving an additional dose of TTX-MC138 during each 28-day treatment cycle, and may remain on the study absent any significant safety observations or disease progression.
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To date, the two patients who have remained on study the longest have received seven doses of TTX-MC138 over approximately seven months and have demonstrated stable disease.
No significant safety or dose-limiting toxicities have been reported in the trial’s 13 patients.
Ongoing analyses of PK activity from Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 suggest that TTX-MC138 demonstrates a PK/PD profile consistent with preclinical results and results from TransCode’s Phase 0 clinical trial.
Specifically, the preliminary PK data follow a predictable dose-response relationship.
Analysis of PD activity from cycle one treatments in Cohorts 1 and 2, treated with a dose of 0.8 mg/kg and 1.6 mg/kg, respectively, demonstrates miRNA-10b target engagement at 24 hours post-infusion in 5 out of the six patients analyzed.
The observed tolerability profile and the available PK/PD results thus far support the advancement of the clinical trial to evaluate the safety and potential anti-tumor activity of TTX-MC138 in the planned dose expansion (Phase 1b) portion of the trial.
At the highest dose administered, TTX-MC138 was well tolerated with no significant toxicities noted.
In January, TransCode Therapeutics dosed the first patient in Cohort 3 of its Phase 1 clinical trial with its lead candidate, TTX-MC138.
The company’s Safety Review Committee approved the progression to the third cohort following a favorable review of safety and pharmacokinetic data from Cohorts 1 and 2. No significant safety or dose-limiting toxicities have been reported in the earlier cohorts.
The pharmacokinetic data from these cohorts has been consistent with preclinical and Phase 0 trial results. Patients from the earlier cohorts remain in the study and are continuing to receive additional doses of TTX-MC138.
Price Action: RNAZ stock is up 4.89% at $0.43 during the premarket session at the last check Thursday.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued patent number 12,274,692 to Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ADIL) AD04 on Thursday.
The patent covers a method of treating alcohol-related diseases and opioid-related disorders using AD04 in genetically identified patients.
This newly issued patent strengthens Adial’s intellectual property portfolio by covering the administration of AD04, the company’s investigational drug.
The patent claims a method of treating addiction by administering a therapeutically effective amount of AD04 to patients with serotonin-related gene variations.
The granted claims include specific genetic profiles associated with treatment efficacy and the corresponding dosing regimens.
Specifically for AUD, the patent claims cover a method of treatment for a broad definition of alcohol-related disorders, including disorders associated with alcohol use such as alcohol-induced or associated anxiety, bipolar, sexual dysfunction, sleep disorder, or gambling disorder, as well as alcohol withdrawal.
In February, Adial Pharmaceuticals announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued patent number 12,221,654.
The patent expanded the covered methods of identifying patients with specific genetic markers linked to substance use disorders and treating them with AD04, the company’s investigational new drug product.
In January, Adial Pharmaceuticals completed the AD04-103 pharmacokinetics (PK) study for AD04, confirming predictable bioavailability, dose proportionality, no food effect, and a safety profile consistent with ondansetron’s use.
In November 2024, Adial Pharmaceuticals completed a pharmacokinetics (PK) study of AD04 for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in heavy drinking patients (defined as less than ten drinks/drinking day).
The results of this study showed that, due to the lower dose, AD04 0.33mg delivered lower ondansetron PK exposure than the marketed reference standard ondansetron 4mg tablet; ondansetron pharmacokinetic exposure increased in proportion to dose across a 3–fold AD04 dose range; and AD04 can be taken in fed or fasted states.
Price Action: At the last check on Thursday, ADIL stock was down 0.52% to $0.69 during the premarket session.
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An antitrust trial against Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has put the company’s segments, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, into the spotlight, as the company could be forced to divest these units.
A Benzinga reader poll shows a potential break-up could be a value unlock for Meta Platforms as they share which new unit they would want to own.
What Happened: An antitrust trial by the Federal Trade Commission could cast a shadow over Meta Platforms, with its first-quarter financial results due Wednesday after the market close.
The trial accuses Meta of using a “buy or bury” strategy to acquire competing companies, such as Instagram and WhatsApp. The trial highlighted how Meta also considered buying Snap Inc. and has shut down some of the companies it previously acquired.
While a forced spinoff or breakup for Meta Platforms might sound like a bad thing, it could ultimately unlock shareholder value through a sum-of-parts valuation. This could allow each unit to trade at higher multiples and highlight individual growth.
Benzinga recently asked readers if they think Meta could be worth more under a spinoff or break-up plan from the FTC.
“Meta Platforms could be forced to sell or spinoff Instagram and WhatsApp. If the spinoffs/sales happen which do you think describes what happens next?” Benzinga asked.
- Sum of parts greater than current $1.27 trillion market cap: 50%
- Sum of parts less than current $1.27 trillion market cap: 28%
- Meta, Instagram and WhatsApp worth $1.27 trillion together still: 22%
The survey found that half of Benzinga readers believe Meta stock could be worth more with a forced spinoff or breakup.
Benzinga readers were also asked which future Meta unit they would most want to own if a breakup were to happen.
“If Meta splits into three separate companies, which would you be most interested in owning?” Benzinga asked.
- Instagram: 43%
- Meta Platforms/Facebook: 35%
- WhatsApp: 23%
The poll found that Instagram would be the most coveted asset if traded individually.
Why It’s Important: Meta acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, beating out a bid of $500 million previously offered by Twitter.
At the time of the acquisition, many experts questioned the premium valuation given Instagram’s 30 million users and limited revenue.
Since the acquisition, Instagram has become one of the most important growth segments for Meta with around two billion users and hundreds of millions of daily active users.
A break-up could see Instagram get a premium valuation given its higher growth and more monetization opportunities compared to the legacy Facebook brand. Of course, the Meta Platforms/Facebook company, under a new model, could have more of the company’s AI technology and platforms, which could also receive a premium valuation.
Meta has argued against the antitrust allegations, highlighting competition from TikTok and YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL). The trial remains active and will ultimately decide if Meta is forced to make any moves.
META Price Action: Meta stock trades tat $538.05 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $427.11 to $740.91. Meta stock is down 10.2% year-to-date in 2025 and up 25% over the last year.
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The study was conducted by Benzinga from April 23, 2025 through April 28, 2025. It included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from 100 adults.
Photo: Shutterstock
Silo Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:SILO) on Wednesday released results for its preclinical study evaluating SP-26.
SP-26 is a ketamine-based injectable dissolvable polymer implant for chronic pain and fibromyalgia. If clinically successful, SP-26 could qualify for the FDA’s streamlined 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for drug approval.
The study met all endpoints, including survival, clinical observations, body weight stability, neurological assessments, and histopathological evaluation.
The study, which was conducted in minipigs, evaluated the pharmacokinetics, safety, and local tolerability of SP-26 formulations when administered subcutaneously.
SP-26 implants are designed to deliver ketamine at a controlled rate, avoiding the dissociative effects associated with IV bolus injection and providing a viable alternative to highly addictive opioid treatments.
“SP-26 has been designed to offer a new approach to pain management by providing sustained, sub-psychedelic levels of ketamine in an abuse-deterrent format,” commented Eric Weisblum, CEO of Silo Pharma. “Preclinical SP-26 research overall has focused on ensuring that the safety profile of SP-26 aligns with FDA requirements for potential at-home therapeutic designation. If approved, SP-26 could become the first at-home injectable ketamine-based therapeutic.”
Study Highlights:
- Safety Profile: No implant-related adverse events were observed. To the study conclusion, animals maintained a healthy weight, normal neurological behavior, and full survival.
- Sustained Drug Release: Ketamine was steadily released post-implantation, with measurable systemic exposure achieved across all dose levels. Peak drug levels were reached within 1 hour in most subjects, with sustained plasma concentrations observed for up to 22 days.
- Minimal Tissue Reaction: Both formulations elicited minimal to mild chronic inflammation at the implant sites, with no dose-dependent or formulation-specific differences.
On Monday, Silo Pharma filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) focused on the neurology drug SPC-14, an intranasal compound for Alzheimer’s disease exclusively licensed to Silo Pharma from Columbia University.
Price Action: SILO stock is up 3.72% at $0.84 during the premarket session at the last check Wednesday.
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Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the Magnificent Seven stocks reporting financial earnings this week.
Here’s a look at what Benzinga readers predict will happen and what analysts are saying.
What Happened: Analysts expect Apple to report second-quarter earnings per share of $1.62 on Thursday after market close, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company reported earnings per share of $1.53 in the second quarter of last year.
Apple has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in eight straight quarters and nine of the last 10 quarters overall.
Analysts expect Apple to report second-quarter revenue of $94.30 billion, up from $90.75 billion in last year’s second quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in eight straight quarters and nine of the previous 10 quarters overall.
On Tuesday, Benzinga polled viewers of the daily “PreMarket Playbook” show, which can be found below.
During the episode, a poll asked viewers to predict if Apple will beat or miss analyst estimates for earnings on Thursday. Here are the results:
- Beat: 30%
- Mixed: 27%
- Miss: 26%
- Not Sure: 15%
Benzinga viewers and readers are mixed on Apple’s quarterly results, with 30% predicting a beat, 27% predicting mixed results, and 26% predicting a miss, all close to the same percentage.
Read Also: Apple Q2 Will Be ‘Better-Than-Feared’: Analyst Says iPhone Company Has ‘Proven Track Record’
Why It’s Important: Along with seeing the quarterly top and bottom-line results, analysts and investors will be looking for readouts on how iPhone sales performed in the quarter and how China did.
Investors and analysts will also be looking for commentary on tariffs, the macroeconomic environment, the supply chain, future product releases and more.
Benzinga viewers were previously asked to predict Tesla Inc.’s quarterly earnings. In that poll, the results were more decisive, as seen below:
- Miss: 68%
- Beat: 19%
- In-Line: 11%
In the recent quarter, Tesla’s earnings per share of 27 cents missed a Street consensus estimate of 31 cents and revenue of $19.34 billion missed a Street consensus estimate of $21.35 billion.
Time will tell if “PreMarket Playbook” viewers are right once again and Apple beats estimates Wednesday.
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Photo: Shutterstock
Editor’s Note: An April 23 version of this SolarBank story has been deleted.
Each week, Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks that are just under the surface and deserve attention.
Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance of information to uncover new opportunities and understand why certain stocks should be of interest.
Here’s a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week ending April 17:
Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX): The data center company saw strong interest from readers during the week. Citigroup recently maintained a Buy rating on the stock and lowered the price target from $1,020 to $970. Mizuho also lowered the price target from $1,094 to $1,053 recently while maintaining an Outperform rating. All eyes are likely centered on the company’s upcoming first-quarter earnings report on April 30. Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $2.22 billion, up from $2.13 billion in last year’s first quarter. Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings per share of $9.09, up from $8.86 in last year’s first quarter. The company has had recent mixed results beating earnings per share in three of the last four quarters, while missing revenue estimates in four straight quarters. The stock was up around 5% over the last five trading sessions, as shown on the Benzinga Pro chart below.
Prologics Inc (NYSE:PLD): The industrial and logistics REIT saw strong interest from readers during the week and rejoins the Stock Whisper Index. On April 16, the company reported earnings per share of $1.42 that beat a Street consensus estimate of $1.38, while revenue of $2.00 billion missed a Street consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. The company has had mixed recent results, beating earnings per share in fourth straight quarters, while missing revenue estimates from analysts in six straight quarters. Several analysts lowered their price targets on the stock recently. While the quarterly results showed growth, management commentary said that customers were being more cautious given “policy uncertainty.” The company reiterated full-year guidance, but the commentary could be something to watch going forward.
Alamos Gold Inc (NYSE:AGI): Gold stocks continue to be hot with Benzinga readers with Alamos taking its turn on the Stock Whisper Index with gold at all-time highs. The stock recently got several price target increases from analysts including Scotiabank and RBC Capital. Investors are preparing for the company to report first-quarter financial results on April 30. Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $357.2 million and earnings per share of 23 cents. The company has beaten revenue estimates from analysts in four straight quarters and seven of the last 10 quarters overall. On the earnings side, the company has beaten analyst estimates for EPS in seven of the last 10 quarters overall. Shares are up 98% over the last year and could have more upside from a strong earnings report and positive commentary on how the strong prices of gold are helping the company’s future financials.
Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE:BSX): The medical devices company saw strong interest from readers during the week, which comes ahead of fourth-quarter financial results. The company also received an analyst upgrade from Hold to Buy from Needham with a new price target of $113. Boston Scientific is set to report first-quarter financial results on April 23. Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $4.57 billion, up from $3.86 billion in last year’s first quarter. The company has beaten analyst revenue estimates in more than 10 straight quarters. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of 67 cents, up from 56 cents per share in last year’s first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in eight straight quarters. There are some concerns about how tariffs could impact medical devices, but Boston Scientific has remained a strong performer in the sector. The company said 2024 was one of the best years in its history. Investors will be looking for a strong first quarter and positive commentary to kick things off in 2025.
American Express Co (NYSE:AXP): The credit card company reported first-quarter financial results on Thursday with earnings per share of $3.64 beating an analyst estimate of $3.47 and revenue of $16.97 billion beating an analyst estimate of $16.94 billion. The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in two straight quarters and for earnings per share in four of the last five quarters. In the earnings results, the company reported strong Card Member spending and higher net interest income. The company said it is seeing steady spending and credit trends despite the macroeconomic concerns. Bank of America recently upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy given it high-quality customer base that could keep credit losses in check. During uncertain times, credit card spending could increase and American Express remains a stock to watch with the stock up around 16% over the last year.
Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.
Read the latest Stock Whisper Index reports here:
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In a world where the vast majority of bond funds are conservative, with treasuries and corporates coming to mind, NYLI MacKay Securitized Income ETF (NYSE:SECR), a structured credit ETF that has $150 million in assets under management, is coloring outside the lines.
This ETF provides individual investors a unique window into institutional-quality exposure in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial MBS (CMBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS). And whereas most funds have been fluctuating in the recent market winds, this ETF has not just maintained its balance but danced past the storm, providing robust performance and enticing yield.
We sat down with Zachary Aronson, director and research analyst at MacKay Shields, to take a closer look under the hood. And quite frankly, the engine is anything but standard. The ETF is centered on the knowledge of MacKay Shields, a fixed-income giant with about $140 billion in AUM. The fund was launched in May last year and is managed by a team who lives and works structured credit, and it shows.
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“Securitized products — like MBS, CMBS and ABS — offer compelling yield and diversification characteristics, but they’re often underrepresented in traditional bond funds,” said Aronson. “With SECR, we saw an opportunity to bring institutional-caliber structured credit exposure to the ETF space in a format that’s accessible to a broader range of investors.
“Many fixed income ETFs are heavily concentrated in Treasuries or corporate credit,” he added, noting that the rationale behind forming SECR was to design a “core bond solution with a securitized backbone that historically has had lower correlation to equities and corporates.”
Why Investors Should Consider SECR
One standout aspect of SECR is active management, a rarity in a market where ETFs often operate on autopilot. And according to Aronson, that’s not just a feature — it’s the fund’s superpower.
“Structured products are incredibly diverse, with complexity that doesn’t lend itself well to a rules-based index. Active management lets us be selective — adjusting exposures across sectors, coupons or deal vintages in real time. During volatility, we’re not forced to follow an index down — we can shift into higher-quality tranches, move up in capital structure, or lean into mispriced opportunities. That flexibility has been key in managing risk while seeking to capture upside,” he said.
Retail investors tend to avoid structured credit just because it sounds very hard and a bit scary. But SECR was made as straightforward as possible. Shedding light on that, Aronson said, “We designed SECR to be a single-ticker solution, so investors don’t need to pick and choose between MBS, CMBS or ABS themselves. Ultimately, we want investors to understand why the fund is positioned a certain way and how that ties back to macro trends they’re already familiar with —like mortgage rates, consumer credit and commercial real estate.”
And that strategy has been paying off. Amid volatility, SECR hasn’t just protected capital, it’s generated alpha. Aronson said that leaning into seasoned RMBS securities with compelling yields that are better buffered against an economic recession made that possible. This apart, “underpriced CMBS bonds with a combination of property types behind them, and a diversified basket of ABS bonds with what we view as strong structural protections” were also key factors.
Aronson believes that some real estate collateral in CMBS bonds are incorrectly priced and presents good relative value. He also noted the sector is under stress, which is why SECR actively underwrites the credit on all securities. “We think housing is resilient, especially within seasoned securities where loan-to-value ratios are very low compared to when they were issued,” he added.
On the ABS side — cars, credit cards, etc. — the team is moving with surgical exactness.
“The latest trends show a weakening consumer with delinquencies on the higher end, this drives us to be very specific in deal selection where we can target certain collateral types and potential structural protections. That being said we do not see the consumer being overleveraged to the same extent as the Great Financial Crisis,” Aronson said.
But discussing triggers and the macro events that can reverse the risk-reward ratio, he said, “Fed pivot can be the driver of spread compression and price appreciation — but potentially also macro stress rising, particularly in labor markets. If unemployment meaningfully increases, you will see pressure across consumer ABS and housing assets.” SECR portfolio is constructed for risk management purposes, targeting “downside protection by structure and seasoning, not only yield,” Aronson added.
Security selection and knowledge of the subtle risk in different subsectors sets SECR apart from its traditional bond ETF competitors. Aronson said there can be major inconsistencies in risk within the ABS, CMBS and RMBS sectors. Having full access to the securitized market (not just the liquid names), helps SECR seek value where others may not be looking.
Bottom Line
For investors seeking yield with a differentiated risk profile, SECR provides a compelling, actively managed solution amid uncertain fixed-income markets.
“We consider this is a rare window where securitized credit is offering compelling spread without having to reach far down in quality. We think SECR is a smart way to participate while being thoughtful about risk,” said Aronson.
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Photo: bigjom jom via Shutterstock