U.S. abortion ruling ignites retail interest in women contraceptive makers - Vanda
01/07/2022 17:01
By Mrinalika Roy and Medha Singh
July 1 (Reuters) - Retail investors have flocked to small
biotech firms that make women contraceptives after the U.S.
Supreme Court last week overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that
recognized the constitutional right to abortion, Vanda Research
said on Friday.
The landmark decision has turned the spotlight on
contraception access and led to a temporary spike in demand for
over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills.
Evofem Biosciences EVFM.O and Agile Therapeutics Inc
AGRX.O have been biggest beneficiaries, Vanda Research data
shows, drawing on average $775,000 and $660,400 in retail
inflows in the days following the ruling. That compares with a
daily average of $15,540 and $10,320 for the stocks from their
IPOs before the ruling on June 24.
"We have seen a surge in retail investor buying in these
names on the back of the U.S. abortion ruling, with Agile and
Evofem increasing most significantly relative to historical
averages," said Lucas Mantle, analyst at Vanda Research.
Since the ruling, Evofem shares have more than doubled in
value, while Agile gained as much as 34% to Wednesday's close.
Agile's shares have since tumbled more than 40% after the
company announced a public offering.
Evofem sells a non-hormonal contraception gel called Phexxi
and Agile offers a weekly birth control transdermal patch, sold
under the brand name Twirla in the United States.
Phexxi, which was approved in 2020, brought in sales of $4.3
million for Evofem in the latest reported quarter and the
company expects revenue of $30 million to $35 million for the
year.
Femasys FEMY.O and Dare Bioscience DARE.O have also
captured investors' attention, data from Vanda, an analytics
firm that tracks retail flows, show.
Dare Bioscience is developing a non-hormonal contraceptive,
while Femasys is developing Femabloc, a permanent birth control
product. Both are currently in clinical trials.
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Amazon places purchase limit on emergency contraceptive pills
https://www.reuters.com/business/amazon-places-purchase-limit-emergency-contraceptive-pills-2022-06-28/
Retail investor interest in women contraceptive makers https://tmsnrt.rs/3y9gk7R
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(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Medha Singh in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
((mrinalika.roy@thomsonreuters.com;))