SAN FRANCISCO - July 7, 2014 -Michael Higgins from Highline Research Advisors, part of Financial Entrepreneur Platform at Merriman Capital, Inc. ("Merriman"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: MERR), announced today that it has initiated equity research coverage of Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: TTNP) with a Buy rating and a $3.00 price target.
Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a South San Francisco based specialty pharmaceutical company actively developing Probuphine as its lead program. Probuphine is comprised of four implants, each containing 80mg of buprenorphine (BUP) for the treatment of opioid addiction. Probuphine is comprised of a polymer and BUP, which is continuously released in a linear fashion over a six month period before being removed from below the skin of an upper, inside arm. The company has met all of the co-primary endpoints from four Phase 3 trials and 13 of 14 secondary endpoints with adverse events comparable to placebo pills and placebo rods. There were no adverse cardiovascular or renal signals, with no serious adverse events. Titan filed for regulatory approval in the United States in October of 2012 and under Priority Review was issued a Complete Response Letter in April of 2013, despite the recommendations of an FDA Advisory Panel the prior month (see Exhibit 1). Titan reached a development and marketing agreement for the North American market with Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, which is a privately held company that was founded in 2012 by a private venture capital firm, Apple Tree Partners. Braeburn owns ~11% of Titan's equity and is obligated to pay for the fifth Phase 3 trial, all marketing costs and clinical costs for a chronic pain indication.
FOR FULL REPORT AND IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES PLEASE CONTACT Michael Higgins at mhiggins@highlineresearchadvisors or (917) 903-5254 and/ or Adriana Piltz at apiltz@merrimanco.com or (646) 292-1424.