Axcella Health (NASDAQ: AXLA) stock is up 300% yesterday. AXLA stock jumped on the announcement of their receipt of a patent on their long covid treatment. Getting a patent is nice, it sure is. But it’s not in fact, a proof of anything. To get a patent you show that what you’ve got is new, the patent is issued. This does not mean that what you’ve got works. Not in any sense at all does this patent mean that it actually cures or even helps with long covid. There’s still the long slog through the FDA testing process to go. First to prove that it doesn’t not work - ie poison people - then to prove that it does work and finally, only then, can it go on sale. The usual estimate is that it takes 10 years to go through this process.
Axcella might have something here but it’s still going to be years before we find out. “Axcella Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AXLA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on pioneering a new approach to address the biology of complex diseases using compositions of endogenous metabolic modulators (EMMs), today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted U.S. Patent No. 11,737,999 with claims covering methods of use of Candidate AXA1125, for treating a subject having post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), a/k/a Long COVID, particularly fatigue. The patent was issued on August 29, 2023, with anticipated expiration in 2042.” That’s great, but it doesn;t show that it works at all.
As we’ve pointed out before about Axella Health: “ “Axcella Health Inc. operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company in the United States. The company treats complex diseases using endogenous metabolic modulators. Its product pipeline includes AXA1125 that is in Phase 2a clinical trial for long COVID therapy for patients, as well as Phase 2b clinical trial for treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; and AXA1665, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the reduction in risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence.”” This drug is in Phase IIb testing, so about half way through that decade long process by time. And, to repeat, it’s the testing process that tells us whether it works or not, not the grant of the patent.
Axcella Health stock price from Google Finance
We’d also point out that Axcella is going to need more cash real soon now. They’ve maybe $9 million in cash, are burning $7 million every 6 months, We’d suggest that there’s going to be some stock issuance real soon now - after all, after the price has just jumped 300% is a great time to do that, right?
