ACIU

Zacks highlights two stocks with Strong Buy ratings and positive momentum: Stepan Company (SCL), a specialty chemicals manufacturer with a 10.3% earnings estimate increase over 60 days and 12.3% three-month gains; and AC Immune (ACIU), a biopharmaceutical company focused on neurodegenerative diseases with a 28.6% earnings estimate increase and 9.2% three-month gains.

Over 200 companies are advancing more than 240 pipeline Alzheimer's disease therapies across various clinical development stages. The market is being driven by an aging population, rising disease prevalence, and the emergence of disease-modifying therapies that enable earlier intervention and biomarker-guided care. Two therapies have recently received FDA approval: KISUNLA (donanemab) from Eli Lilly and LEQEMBI (lecanemab-irmb) from Eisai/Biogen, both targeting amyloid plaques to slow disease progression.

Pacira BioSciences announced an exclusive agreement with Italian pharmaceutical company Molteni Farmaceutici to distribute and commercialize Exparel across the EU and UK. Molteni will launch the long-acting local anesthetic in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Poland starting in 2027, while Pacira retains manufacturing rights and will receive upfront payments, supply fees, and royalties. The deal supports Pacira's international expansion strategy while the company advances other pain management products including Zilretta and PCRX-201.

Merck announced that its investigational drug tulisokibart met the primary endpoint in a phase IIb study for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa. High-dose and medium-dose regimens demonstrated superiority over placebo, with 72% and 64% of patients achieving HiSCR50 response respectively, compared to 35% for placebo.

The drug also showed improvements in quality of life measures. Merck plans to advance tulisokibart into phase III development for HS and is evaluating it across six immune-mediated indications.

uniQure (QURE) announced mixed phase I/II data for its investigational gene therapy ifezuntirgene inilparvovec for Huntington's disease treatment. At 36 months, the therapy showed 80% slowing in cUHDRS and 67% in TFC versus external controls.

However, 48-month data showed weaker results with cUHDRS at 44% slowing (not statistically significant) and TFC at 61% slowing. The stock plunged 37% following the announcement. The company has submitted a BLA to the FDA based on 36-month data, with regulatory review and durability validation as key upcoming catalysts.

Iovance Biotherapeutics raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $410-$420 million from $350-$370 million, driven by strong patient demand for its therapies Amtagvi and Proleukin. The stock surged 31.5% following the announcement. Amtagvi, the first FDA-approved TIL therapy for melanoma, generated $151 million in sales in H1 2026 with 54% year-over-year growth, and the company plans to expand authorized treatment centers from 100 to at least 110 by year-end.

UroGen Pharma is transitioning from development-stage to commercial-growth biotech, driven by strong Zusduri uptake (73% sequential revenue growth to $50.4M in Q2 2026) and stable Jelmyto sales ($22M in Q2). The company's pipeline includes promising candidates like UGN-103 (94.5% response rate with NDA submitted) and UGN-104, with potential to expand beyond urothelial cancers through a strategic collaboration with IntraGel.

AbbVie announced FDA approval of Juvmo (tavapadon), a once-daily oral dopamine receptor agonist for Parkinson's disease treatment. The drug can be used alone or with levodopa and represents the first dopaminergic breakthrough for PD in decades. AbbVie expects Juvmo, along with Vyalev and Duopa, to generate over $5 billion in peak sales, strengthening its neuroscience franchise.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals received a Notice of Allowance from the USPTO that extends patent protection for trofinetide (Daybue) to March 2041, adding nearly five years to existing coverage. Daybue sales grew 25% to $226 million in H1 2026, and the drug received EU approval in August 2026, becoming the first and only approved treatment for Rett syndrome in Europe.