bob 's stores is a chain of 35 retail stores in the northeastern united states owned by versa capital management .

founded as bob 's surplus in middletown , connecticut , by bob lapidus in 1954 , the chain expanded gradually until it was acquired by tjx in 2003 .

the chain targets moderate-income customers with a selection of footwear , workwear , teamwear , and activewear .

bob ' s stores

owner of bob’s stores , eastern mountain sports files ch . 11 | boston herald
with over 30 stores located conveniently throughout the north east , there ' s sure to be a bob ' s stores near you .
view information on current and former bob ' s stores building locations . find leasing information , previous sales and currently active for sale and lease listings of properties where bob ' s stores is located . research bob ' s stores information , location photos and more .
the owner of eastern mountain sports and bob’s stores filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday with plans to shutter some stores and sell the chains .
copyright bob ' s watches . all rights reserved . bob ' s watches is not affiliated with rolex s . a . , rolex usa , or any of its subsidiaries .
according to the company’s website , bob’s stores was founded by bob lapidus in 1954 and has 35 stores throughout the northeast . each store has an average of 20 , 000 pairs of shoes to choose from , the site says .
— bob’s stores and eastern mountain sports could each close two new hampshire stores as part of a bankruptcy proposal that will be reviewed in court next week .
bob ' s stores has been a past or current tenant within the buildings involved in these sale and lease transactions .
in australia , trade secret stores are converted into t . k . maxx stores .
tjx acquires bob’s stores , a 31 - store , value - oriented retailer of casual family apparel and footwear based in the northeast region of the u . s .
with the old macy’s next door being converted into a major shopping destination , she said it would be wise for bob’s stores to stay put and remain in operation .
that ' s the public bob . there is , however , another bob . this bob is quiet - spoken , self - effacing , reflective , a complete turnaround from the manic television bob . they do dress alike though : open shirt , pullover sweater , jeans , sneakers .
the store manager at bob’s stores in bedford declined to speak to the new hampshire union leader when reached by telephone on friday . he referred all questions to the company’s media spokesman .
local shoppers say they are disappointed about the potential closure of the bob’s stores in bedford — one of the four facilities eyed to shut its doors .
after the parent company for bob ' s and eastern mountain sports filed for bankruptcy , a list of stores that will be closing has been released .
on qualifying products , bob ' s watches will then verify the current price to complete the price match .
hit : the owner of eastern mountain sports , which has 13 stores in massachusetts , and bob’s stores , which has 11 bay state locations , has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy , with debts over $ 500 million .
now about bob and those tv spots . . . - the new york times
horne , who picked up a pair of vans sneakers for her grandson , questioned why the bob’s stores in bedford would close when it was recently remodeled and is part of a vibrant plaza .
' ' it ' s not complicated , ' ' says bob . their studio is an upstairs room in the manchester bob ' s store . they set up an arrangement of furniture , use one camera , some lights , and bob goes into action . that ' s it . occasionally they go on location . a commercial featuring bob with carla berube , a former uconn and now new england blizzard basketball notable , was shot at east catholic high school , also in manchester .
this loopnet bob ' s stores tenant and owner information is organized and aggregated from public records and the millions of historical and current sale and lease listings provided by members of the loopnet commercial real estate marketplace .
it ' s hard for sporting goods stores when their number one brand also becomes their number one competitor .
the locations that would be shuttered include bob’s stores at 73 south river rd . in bedford and 92 cluff crossing in salem , and eastern mountain sports stores at 281 daniel webster highway in nashua and in the mall at rockingham park in salem , according to court documents filed in the u . s . bankruptcy court for the district of delaware .
whoops ! did you mistype ? please re - enter a valid email . example : bob @ urltoken
eastern outfitters llc , the parent company of eastern mountain sports and bob’s stores , is asking a bankruptcy court to allow it to close 48 of its 86 stores — including four in new hampshire — as part of a plan for u . k . retailer sports direct international plc to acquire the company .
but the waterbed craze was ebbing in the early 1990 ' s when bob kaufman and gene rosenberg , who had owned a chain of furniture stores and was considered an expert in special promotions , took over a building in newington where a furniture store had gone into bankruptcy . the building , an early casualty of a growing state recession , became the first bob ' s discount furniture store , with mr . rosenberg owning two - thirds of the business and bob one - third under an agreement that still exists .
the pitchman has become a celebrity of sorts . wherever he goes , someone is sure to yell ' ' hey , that ' s bob , ' ' or sidle up and say , ' ' hi bob ! ' ' as though they have been friends for years .
, dick ' s and modell ' s are interested in taking over former sports authority stores , but it ' s unclear if that will actually happen and also what a takeover could look like . will sports authority exist at all in a few months ?
in the years since , in equally distressing economic times , more stores have been opened and now they total a dozen in connecticut and two more in western massachusetts . last year , bob ' s discount furniture was rated as the 63d largest furniture company in the nation .
they are product generalists rather than product specialists ,
jon schallert , a marketing consultant with longmont told the denver post in february , a few weeks before sports authority ' s bankruptcy filing .
so many consumers these days who are into sports and outdoor activities really want specialized products . just like macy ' s and other generalized stores , they ' ve found themselves in trouble . in reality , it ' s not underperforming stores . it ' s stores that no longer meet the needs of demanding consumers .
the first two t . j . maxx stores open in auburn and worcester , massachusetts .
tjx brings homesense to the u . k . with the opening of its first stores .
tjx acquires trade secret , an off - price retailer that operates 35 stores in australia .
eastern outfitters filed for bankruptcy protection in february , when it listed assets and liabilities in the range of $ 100 million to $ 500 million . private equity firm versa capital management acquired bob’s stores and eastern mountain sports through the bankruptcy last year of vestis retail group , which previously owned the chains .
' ' i became the waterbed king , ' ' he says cheerily . he would lease space in stores to sell waterbeds with a proviso that the stores would be paid only when he had his profits . it was a no - risk deal for him and by the end of the 1980 ' s , he had space in 24 stores in four states .
t . k . maxx continues its expansion in europe , opening stores in austria and the netherlands .
' ' i feel like a fraud sometimes , ' ' said the private bob kaufman . he was relaxing in one of the soft chairs in his orange store and talking about his double identity . ' ' i am rather introverted , ' ' he said . ' ' people who know me say its amazing when they see me on tv . ' ' so why does he do the television commercials that force him to change from introvert bob to extrovert bob ? it ' s simple ; they work .
“i am here a lot . i have adult boys that need a lot of clothes , and bob’s is a great option , ” said carlene horne while exiting the shop on friday afternoon . “it is really sad . ”
t . k . maxx opens stores in germany , introducing the off - price concept to that country .
bob kaufman , who is now 45 , grew up in west hartford and was graduated from the university of connecticut in l974 with a degree in marketing .
bob ' s discount furniture was started modestly in 1991 with one store in newington . the ' ' come on down ' ' and ' ' gotcha ' ' commercials started in 1992 , a disastrous year economically for connecticut in general .
it came to a point where sports authority stores were looking like a mess , while dick ' s was investing in having their merchandise laid out in an attractive presentation ,
says davidowitz .
tjx acquires marshalls , the second largest off - price retailer in the u . s . at this time , marshalls has 496 stores and offers brand name family apparel , including a broad selection of footwear and menswear . combined , t . j . maxx and marshalls operated more than 1 , 000 stores nationwide .
bob ' s watches is an independent watch dealer and is not sponsored by , associated with and / or affiliated with rolex , s . a . bob ' s watches only sells pre - owned rolex watches and provides its own warranties on the watches it sells . rolex , urltoken , is under no obligation to warranty - service watches sold by bob ' s watches . rolex datejust , rolex day date president , submariner , presidential , explorer , sea dweller , super president , gmt master , gmt , yachtmaster , prince , milgaus , masterpiece , air king , cosmograph daytona , and pearlmaster are all registered trademarks of the rolex corporation ( rolex usa , rolex s . a . ) to buy a new rolex watch , please visit urltoken for a list of authorized rolex dealers near you . * sales tax on internet transactions is only collected on orders shipped to addresses in california or as otherwise required by law .
a line at a boston modell ' s . photo : boston globe / getty images
free priority overnight shipping on all orders applies to u . s . orders only .
by 2012 , sports authority was on the road to opening 35 new stores a year , but according to market research company statista , even with all its new stores , sports authority couldn ' t own the sporting goods game . as of 2015 , sports authority didn ' t even make the national retail federation ' s top 100 retailers list .
dick ' s , the country ' s largest sports retailer , decided to take matters into its own hands earlier than sports authority did . in 2014 , it teamed up with country singer carrie underwood to roll out an exclusive fitness collection , calia , in its stores . it also debuted a separate athleisure offshoot , chelsea collective , with two freestanding locations last year . with this new concept , dick ' s was able to play both to more traditional sporting goods shoppers in its stores and a different type of shopper elsewhere .
tjx acquires sierra trading post , a u . s . off - price internet retailer .
kimco realty corporation ' s properties include retail space available in neighborhood and community shopping centers .
bob ' s watches is dedicated to always offering the best value to our customers . we will match the price , at the time of purchase , on a low price guarantee product if you find the same item at a lower price at a designated major online retailer .
sports authority isn ' t alone . last month , vestis retail group , the parent company of eastern mountain sports , bob ' s stores , and sport chalet , filed for bankruptcy . with $ 500 million in liabilities , the company plans to close 56 stores , including all 47 sport chalet locations . six months ago , the east coast - based city sports filed for bankruptcy and closed eight of its 26 stores . although city sports is currently being revived by brent and blake sonnek - schmelz , brothers who own the soccer post retail chain , brent recently admitted to the philadelphia inquirer that the sporting goods industry
is in a state of upheaval .
at age 45 , the off - camera bob is a contented man . ' ' i think i ' m the most blessed man in this state , ' ' he says .
tjx acquires winners apparel of canada , a toronto - based chain of five off - price family apparel stores . over time , tjx grows this chain into canada’s largest off - price retailer of family apparel and home fashions .
bob says he is always amused at the reaction to the stores from people who have seen his antics on television . it ' s a different world . ' ' we don ' t pressure anybody , ' ' he said . ' ' we don ' t have markdown sales . if you buy something today it ' s the same price tomorrow . our salespeople don ' t hover . some people come in for lunch . we don ' t care . they ' ll be back . ' '
grant lavigne ' s transition from high school to professional baseball has been as smooth as marble .
the recession actually helped the business , bob says today . ' ' as we got successful , we started to get calls from owners of buildings that were vacant because other stores had gone bankrupt . they wanted to fill them up . the second store was in windsor , then middletown , then willimantic ' ' and so on .
now you get it . he ' s the guy in the commercials , some 500 a week , over the state ' s network and cable stations , passionately telling , sometimes yelling , about the bargains at bob ' s discount furniture . again , and again and again , day and night , he appears , a skinny guy with a high - pitched voice extolling the virtues of living room sets or bedroom sets , usually ending with an invitation to ' ' come on down ' ' or exulting that he ' s ' ' gotcha ' ' by the low prices and high quality .
the commercials that have fueled the remarkable growth are about as elemental as can be . they are written and produced by bob and two others connected to the company , stan adelstein and andy bricker .
bob has no illusions about the artistic merits of the commercials but he defends them . ' ' who is better to tell about products than someone who believes in them ? ' ' he asks .
258 , 000 square feet power center - neighboring tenants include : kohl ' s , marshall ' s , babies r us , barnes and noble , bed , bath & beyond , best . . .
sierra trading post opens its first two brick - and - mortar stores post - acquisition , bringing this online concept for outdoor apparel to more consumers .
today ' s consumers are looking for specificity , both in terms of function and also aesthetic . the everything - to - everybody nature of huge multi - brand retailers no longer appeals ; department stores across america are struggling with this new reality as well .
“we have all of these health foods in bedford and no men’s clothing stores , ” said horne , of bedford . “i have two adult sons , and i am here two or three times a month . i’ve always been pleased with the prices . ”
dick ' s has taken this to heart by developing stronger partnerships with big brands and rolling out shop - in - shops like a trend - focused
nike field house
and a dedicated
under armour all - american
section in its stores . as a result , the selection at dick ' s has became more enticing , and also more expensive .
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when you go into these sports stores ,
he continues ,
every single store carries the exact same thing , so there really isn ' t anything interesting . there might be best - sellers , but stores can ' t build a future by selling that same , classic black north face fleece . i know sporting good stores tend to stick to fits and products that are old and safe , but there is a new generation is coming .
hermina finds the whole situation sad .
it ' s hard to see a staple of my youth disappear ,
she says , but she ' s optimistic other sports retailers will prevail . so are industry experts .
tjx announces consolidation of the a . j . wright division , with 91 stores converted to t . j . maxx , marshalls , or homegoods banners .
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one , mintel senior research analyst diana smith believes
there ' s definitely more of an overlap today .
there are only so many sporting stores that can survive when every company is growing and expanding , and so right now there ' s a shake out , with the weaker chains failing ,
says kahn .
there was more competition than there were actual purchases .
tjx launches homegoods in the u . s . , offering an eclectic selection of home fashions from around the world .
there are an incredible number of national and regional multi - brand sports retailers in america : dick ' s sporting goods , cabela ' s , champs sports , bass pro shops , rei , academy sports , modell ' s , and big 5 sporting goods corporation , to name a few — and these are just the ones that still exist today .
but chelsea collective is still a multi - brand store , stocking items from the likes of nike , adidas , and under armour — brands that have shifted from being primarily wholesale companies to powerful retail giants . as greg thomsen , the managing director of adidas ' s outdoor division , puts it ,
it ' s hard for sporting goods stores when their number one brand also becomes their number one competitor .
as a result , cities across america were able to sustain multiple sporting goods shops filled with the latest gear . there ' s a laundry list of these local stores : brine sporting goods , which first opened in cambridge , massachusetts in 1867 ; rawlings sporting goods company ( st . louis , missouri in 1887 ) ; oshman ' s dry goods ( richmond , texas in 1919 ) ; maurice ' s sporting goods ( chicago , illinois in 1923 ) ; dunham ' s sports ( waterford , michigan in 1937 ) ; and so on . teen retailer abercrombie & fitch even started out as an elite sporting goods retailer at the end of the 19th century . in 1892 , founder david abercrombie started selling high - end camping gear in new york before expanding into women ' s clothing in 1910 .
cam newton rides around a dick ' s sporting goods for a holiday event in december . photo : charlotte observer / getty images
meriden , conn . - based vestis retail group llc filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in delaware with as much as $ 500 million in debt . the company is closing a third chain , california sporting goods retailer sports chalet , which began liquidation sales at all of its western u . s . stores on saturday .
in canada ) , which will operate the company ' s going - out - of - business sales at all of its locations .
later this month , more auctions for sports authority ' s name , intellectual property , and leases will be held . according to the
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, tells investors to stay away from dick ' s because even though it ' s the current leader in the space ,
its position is just too risky . despite the revenue growth and expansion , this chain could soon be facing the death spiral because of online competition .
t . k . maxx continues its expansion in europe with the opening of stores in poland . t . k . maxx launches its e - commerce site , urltoken , in the u . k .
in reality ,
she continued ,
what they ' re bringing to this experience is not the dick ' s brand , but the knowledge that they have about women and exercise and lifestyle . the advantage is what they know about that shopper from their [ existing ] stores , and how can they translate that into an elevated experience .
retailers in general have a huge advantage over amazon in that they have physical stores and they are able to actually raise an emotional response ,
says sam cinquegrani , the founder and ceo of digital marketing firm objectwave .
these stores need to understand the opportunity and leverage that because they have way more to offer . once they think in those terms , competing with amazon becomes a different type of exercise .
to people who watch television in connecticut - - and that ' s most people - - he ' s like the fly that keeps buzzing around until he seems like part of everyday life and you get the impression that you ' d miss him if he flew away somewhere . or maybe not .
as the chain has expanded , the stores have became fancier , and more dignified : arrangements of furniture in tasteful patterns , coffee for patrons to sip , freshly baked cookies , huge jars of candies for children .
lebenthal agrees , and posits these stores need to become destinations again .
there used to be so much excitement in going to a sporting goods store because there were no other options available , and it was the only place to see the latest merchandise being marketed ,
she says .
these stores have lost their unique appeal , but there are plenty of options to stimulate foot traffic and growth ,
smith of mintel adds .
in 1987 , zayre forms a new entity called the tjx companies , inc . , with t . j . maxx , hit or miss , and chadwick’s of boston as the initial retail banners . following zayre’s reorganization in 1989 , tjx becomes the successor company with ben cammarata serving as chief executive officer and president .
a chain like sport chalet can only carry so many of our items ,
adidas ' s thomsen explains .
we know the walls in their stores can ' t carry every piece of adidas , but a company like zappos can hold every one of our items , and so a new generation of shoppers who wants that kind of selection is just going to go straight there .
i don ' t believe in sales . because it ' s not right to jack up the price of something just so you can put it on sale later .
tjx sells chadwick’s of boston to more closely focus on the synergies between t . j . maxx and marshalls and the successful growth of its various off - price store brands .
a case study for this is modell ' s , whose revenue has grown from $ 698 million in 2012 to $ 765 million in 2015 , according to numbers compiled for racked by privco . modell ' s
markets itself as the ‘hometown sporting good store , '
according to privco , and has established a reputation for building community relationships , making local shoppers more inclined to shop there . among its most successful programs is team weeks , in which local stores donate money to neighborhood teams . as smith explains , other sports retailers can get ahead by following their lead and
going the grassroots way .
outdoor activities such as hunting and skiing were — and still are — a rich part of american tradition as well . many of the sporting goods stores that sold uniforms and equipment for baseball and football also catered to outdoor interests . the great depression played a role , writes david whitten in handbook of american business history , because more than ever before , families were turning to inexpensive hobbies like hiking and fishing . by the late 1960s , whitten writes , annual sales from sporting good stores in america were as high as $ 4 billion .
barnes & noble’s announcement on tuesday that its chief exectutive officer , demos parneros , was being terminated , gave investors some important information : he would not get a severance . his . . .
hermina isn ' t the only once - devoted shopper eschewing her favorite childhood store in favor of other options , judging by sports authority ' s current status . in early march , the 29 - year - old sporting goods retailer revealed it has almost $ 1 . 1 billion in debt and filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . citing
the changing dynamics in the retail industry ,
ceo michael foss announced the company would close 140 locations — a third of the company ' s 450 stores — as well as two distribution centers . he said the company would use its new status to
streamline and strengthen our business both operationally and financially .
during the late 1960 ' s as well as 1970 ' s the engineers at rolex were critical to the quartz movement technology . rolex collaborated with 16 manufacturers where they were eventually able to produce the beta 21 quartz movement , found in the rolex quartz date reference 5100 . continuing their efforts , within five years the clean - slate 5035 / 5055 movement was produced and used in the rolex oysterquartz .
our company roots date back more than four decades . in 1976 , bernard ( ben ) cammarata , general merchandising manager of marshalls at the time , was recruited by discount retailer , zayre corp . 1 , to develop and spearhead the launch of a new off - price chain selling family apparel and home fashions . under mr . cammarata’s leadership , t . j . maxx was born , with its first stores opening in 1977 . in the late 1980s , zayre was restructured and spun off three of its brands — t . j . maxx , hit or miss , and chadwick’s of boston — which served as the initial retail banners of what would become the tjx companies , inc .
they ' re trying to build a women ' s lifestyle brand retailer ,
retail analyst wendy liebmann told racked in february .
i think they felt , at least at this point in time , it would be better built outside the auspices of the dick ' s brand , which tends to have a much more masculine and also much more mass , popular - priced , utilitarian image .
he is also amused by some of the more affluent people who come to his stores to shop but don ' t tell their neighbors . ' ' you ' d be suprised at how many times someone in avon or farmington asks if we can deliver the furniture in an unmarked truck . ' '
due to all this movement and being firmly and often in the red , says howard davidowitz , chairman of retail consulting firm davidowitz & associates , these companies
were never updating their stores or investing in their business because there wasn ' t enough money to do what had to be done .
after benefitting for years from subsidies supplied by new hampshire ratepayers , three of the state ' s six biomass plants are closing , at least for now , saying they can ' t keep running without even . . .
in the case of sports authority , it was founded in florida in 1987 , and was briefly owned by kmart in the the early ' 90s before it merged in 2003 with gart sports , a denver , colorado business that was founded in 1928 . gart had been through several mergers of its own , including with hagan ' s sports and stevens brown in 1987 , as well as with chicago - based sportmart in 1997 and houston - based oshman ' s in 2001 . in 2006 , sports authority also bought copeland ' s sports , a california business in bankruptcy — the same year it was eventually bought by private equity investment firm leonard green & partners .
the tjx companies , inc . ( nyse : tjx ) , the leading off - price apparel and home fashions retailer in the u . s . and worldwide , is ranked 85 among fortune 500 companies and operates four major divisions : marmaxx , homegoods , tjx canada , and tjx international ( comprised of europe and australia ) . as of february 3 , 2018 ( the end of the fiscal year ) , tjx sales were $ 35 . 9 billion , and the company operated more than 4 , 000 stores in nine countries , across three continents .
when he first decided to appear in the television commercials , one of the least enthusiastic people was his father , leo kaufman , who for decades had run an advertising agency in hartford with many furniture accounts . ' ' ' look at you , ' he said . ' and you ' ve got a voice that sounds like chalk on chalk . ' ' ' today , leo likes to accompany bob when he is invited to speak on his career as an entrepreneur .
plus , as schallert mentioned , there ' s the e - commerce factor to weigh . not only have brand sites from the companies like nike and adidas edged these brick - and - mortar retailers out of the market , so have sites like amazon .
' s hertzman .
there will be consolidation and store closures , but athleisure is less a fad and more a trend that will continue to be a bright spot among brands and retailers .
yoga pants as industry savior ? they just might be .
the history of this country is littered with sportings goods stores because the sporting goods industry has loomed large in the united states for well over a century . while nearly every sports retailer today is part of a larger corporate entity , there was a time when the industry was composed entirely of family - run operations , mom - and - pop shops responding to american hobbies .
he acknowledges that the commercials get a mixed reaction . ' ' some people love them and some people hate them . one time , a guy came up to me and i thought he was going to beat me up . ' i hate those ads , ' he said , ' but i like you . ' ' ' bob says he thinks most people approve of him because of his sincerity about the products he is selling . ' ' if i had to fake it , i couldn ' t do it . ' '
through design studios branded as
labs
and collaborations with celebrities like kanye west , pharrell williams , and rihanna and designers like raf simons and stella mccartney . and they ' ve done all this while cutting out middlemen like dick ' s and sports authority in the process .
tjx launches t . k . maxx , introducing the off - price concept to the u . k . and then to ireland . over time , t . k . maxx becomes europe’s only major brick - and - mortar , off - price retailer of apparel and home fashions .
the lines between wholesale and retail faded from black and white to gray to nonexistent ,
greg baldwin , vice president of merchandising at sporting goods chain schuylkill valley sports , told the philadelphia inquirer .
i now compete with 90 percent of my suppliers via e - commerce , physical stores , or a combination of the two . the importance of the retailer as a pipeline to the consumer has been greatly diminished .
but there ' s a stark gap between an increasing customer base and many sports retailers — a gap that only continues to widen , no matter how many times companies see new ownership or rethink their businesses . as hermina puts it ,
my needs evolved , but in many ways , sports authority hasn ' t .
in their
wayback machine
( thanks sherman & mr . peabody ) . click on the link below for the hamilton stores section . use the ' back ' button on your internet explorer page to return to this page . if you follow the many linkis in my old site , it is possible you may not find your way back here easily , as i have no control over my old site and there are no back - links to this site . don ' t panic - just type
previous to 1931 rolex produced watches that required manual winding . in 1931 , however , a self - winding model was offered called the
bubbleback .
the watch used movement from the wearer ' s arm to drive the self - winding component . the new self - winding technology not only made it more convenient but also made time keeping more reliable .
modell ' s engaging their local communities gives them an advantage by targeting a large portion of their customer base ,
says evan danckwerth , an analyst with privco .
other retailers could certainly use this tactic to engage with their customer base because invoking the team aspect — or any community aspect , like schools or a religious groups — is a big advantage and
tjx has continued to grow steadily over the years , opening stores in new markets , countries , and continents , launching new chains , and acquiring other retailers , to bring its popular off - price model to an even wider network of customers who love brand name apparel and home fashions , all at amazing value . after nearly 40 years of service to the company , mr . cammarata retired from his position as chairman of the board in june 2015 and remains with tjx in an advisory role as founder and executive advisor .
americans were watching sports , as well as playing them . professional and college sports served as
two of the nation ' s most powerful community - building institutions ,
mark naison , a history professor at fordham university writes in the journal history now , because they
provided many americans with more than a much - needed escape from the hardships of their daily lives .
sports authority eventually
became an expert at selling nothing ,
edward hertzman , publisher of apparel trade publication sourcing journal , says of its generic offering .
there was no desire to shop there .
expansion went from an opportunity for growth to a liability , explains barbara kahn , the director of the baker retailing center at the university of pennsylvania ' s wharton school .
. he founded the watch making company in london where they specialized in importing hermann aegler ' s quality movements and then placing them in quality watch cases made by companies such as dennison . the duo distributed the timepieces to jewelers that added their names to the wristwatches . some of the earliest watches produced were often stamped with
w & d
on the inside of the caseback .
from the rise of the casual camper to the boutique fitness boom , it can feel like there have never been more people in the market for sports apparel . as of 2015 , sporting goods stores in the us were bringing in as much as $ 48 billion in annual revenue , according to ibisworld , up from $ 39 . 8 billion in 2012 . sports participation is up , too . according to euromonitor , participation in high school sports has increased from 25 percent to 35 percent over the last 35 years , with nearly double the number of female students playing sports as compared to the 1980s .
before there were big hollywood film studios , before there was television , and way before there was the internet , sports were one of the only means of recreation and entertainment . between the 1870s and the 1920s , sports became
perhaps the most pervasive popular cultural activity in american society ,
steven pope writes in his 1997 book patriotic games : sporting traditions in the american imagination . baseball was
the country ' s official national pastime ,
football was
growing into a national , mass spectator sport ,
and
tennis , golf , and bicycling swept through the middle class .
this period also saw the invention of basketball and the popularization of boxing .
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he says he is not dismayed if some people reach for the clicker when he appears . ' ' we all watch too much television anyway , ' ' he says . besides , there is much worse on the tube . ' ' i heard a statistic the other day that a kid by 18 has seen 18 , 000 murders on television . ' '
he also well knows that ' ' come on down , ' ' taken shamelessly from the television show ' ' the price is right , ' ' is a cliche of cliches by now . ' ' i hope no one wants to put it on my tombstone . ' '
from the new york times . you may opt - out at any time .
his first job was with radio shack in groton . he enjoyed it , he said , but something happened a few years later that was to change his life dramatically .
he was going to a meeting on his motorcycle when he noticed that the gas in one tank was almost depleted . he bent down to switch to the second tank , lost control , and crashed into a pole . his right leg was badly shattered and for a time in danger of being amputated . the leg is still partially paralyzed . he took months to recuperate and had to give up his job with radio shack .
he worked in other jobs , including a stint as a supervisor in a factory , but eventually decided to try something else . he had been sleeping on a waterbed , relatively new at the time , because it was supportive of his injured leg . so he became an entrepreneur , in waterbeds .
in a way , his good fortune extends to the accident that nearly cost him a leg . ' ' know where i ' d be if is wasn ' t for the accident ? ' ' he said . ' ' i ' d still be at radio shack . ' '
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all coverage within urltoken from the last 14 days remains free of charge . articles do not always include original photos , charts or graphics .
tjx sells the hit or miss chain to members of hit or miss management and outside investors .
tjx launches a . j . wright , an off - price concept similar to t . j . maxx and marshalls , but aimed at a different consumer demographic .
tjx launches homesense in canada , introducing the off - price home fashions concept to that country . similar to homegoods , homesense offers customers a wide selection of off - price home fashions .
marshalls celebrates 20 years with tjx , and opens its 1 , 000 th store .
1 zayre corp . was a public company that began trading on the new york stock exchange in 1962 .
a shopper at a nike underground pop - up shop . photo : rich lam / getty images
sarah hermina is , and always has been , into sports . growing up , if she wasn ' t in a soccer or basketball uniform , she was showing up to school in casual athletic wear ( not to be confused with now - ubiquitous athleisure ) she would get from sports authority .
racked has affiliate partnerships , which do not influence editorial content , though we may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links . we also occasionally accept products for research and reviewing purposes . see our ethics policy
sports apparel was really cool ,
the 23 - year - old columbia university graduate student recalls .
we wore sweats , track pants , you name it . we even had a phase where everyone was wearing these white spandex under armour shorts underneath our regular shorts . my dad was our soccer coach , and he had coach coupons to sports authority , so i loved shopping there . for training , both on and off the field , we subscribed to the idea of ‘look good , feel good , play good , ' and we were always buying things for the new season .
.
i ' m a big nike person now ,
she says .
sports authority always had older styles , and its prices are more or less the same as a nike
, so i ' m more likely to shop where i have more options from the brand .
sports authority is in liquidation mode as of this month . photo : kathryn scott osler / getty images
it was
pursuing a sale of some or all of the business .
on monday , the sports giant began auctioning off its assets . the winning bid belonged to a trio of liquidators ( hilco global , gordon brothers , and tiger capital group ; tiger capital is also
my needs evolved , but in many ways , sports authority hasn ' t .
boy scouts in the window of the original abercrombie & fitch for a recruitment drive , 1923 . photo : underwood archives / getty images
between the 1870s and the 1920s , sports became
perhaps the most pervasive popular cultural activity in american society .
growing by means of acquisition saddled these companies with debt , and lots of it . in addition to the $ 1 billion of debt sports authority has , vestis revealed in its own bankruptcy filing last month that it had as much as $ 35 million of debt and would be taking $ 125 million worth of bankruptcy financing from wells fargo in order to keep store doors open during the dealings .
the writing has been on the wall for these sports retailers for quite some time ,
says davidowitz . the landscape previously allowed struggling brands to stay afloat , but now , says nomura securities analyst simeon siegel ,
companies that managed to hold onto a lifeline , even after outliving their relevance , are accepting reality .
the current state of teen retailers demonstrates this as well .
customers line up for a sale at gart bros . , which later merged with sports authority , in 1970 . photo : bill peters / getty images
) is getting involved , eager to capitalize on a trend that shows no signs of slowing . while a typical sports authority shopper might be different from a
brands like lululemon and athleta have completely changed your mind about what you can wear when you work out and play sports ,
echoes claudia lebenthal , 52 , a self - described lifelong athlete and the writer behind the blog style of sport .
five years ago , companies like the sports authority and eastern mountain sports were in a position to capitalize on this , smith says , by either stocking up - and - coming fitness brands or creating lines of their own . instead , sports authority thought it could win the sporting goods category simply through store expansion .
sports authority eventually
became an expert at selling nothing . there was no desire to shop there .
sports authority did eventually start stocking merchandise that catered to a more casual athlete , but the damage was already done : consumers were primed to go elsewhere for design - focused activewear .
the real key to survival lies in offering shoppers something e - commerce can ' t .
smith points to companies like lululemon , athleta , and nike that have started to offer free in - store classes and trainings . these experiences help create community , something most big - box retailers are sorely lacking .
is the best way for large and impersonal corporations to connect with their customers .
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in order to expedite the construction of this website , i have decided to link some of these pages to my former geocities website that was taken down several years ago . the whole site has been archived by the nice folks at
in the address bar to return to my current home page . i offer no guarantees that all of the images or links will still work , but all the text should offer you good reading . happy trails and thanks for visiting my site !
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authorities are investigating the death of a 49 - year - old man who neighbors said was found tied up and beaten in a downtown nashua home .
many startup companies wish oracle would buy them , just as the silicon valley giant acquired millyard - based dyn in late 2016 . several organizations around the state work to nurture startup successes .
gun control advocates , and some gun rights supporters , are upset at the recommendations of school safety task force commissioned by gov . chris sununu .
just about the only area in which donald trump has acted like a traditional republican president has been judicial nominations .
when he was a moderator for rochester elections , republican state sen . jim gray noticed the political parties were not always taking advantage of their opportunity to provide what are called . . .
eastern outfitters received court approval this week for an expedited hearing to approve the plan , which will be considered april 13 . a joint venture comprised of hilco merchant resources llc and gordon brothers retail partners llc would conduct store closing sales to liquidate the 48 locations , according to a court filing .
a superior court judge has reversed a decision by the meredith zoning board of adjustment and granted a local man the needed variance to use his property for outside boat storage .
the nashua farmers market , which is now about 30 years old , is being held in a new location in downtown nashua every sunday this season : it is on main street itself between temple and pearl streets . . .
as the nation grapples with a historically low level of unemployment , trucking companies are doing what economists have said firms need to do to attract and retain workers : they ' re hiking pay . . .
if you find a qualifying lower price online , call 1 - 800 - 494 - 3708 and direct a customer service agent to the web site with the lower price .
purchase price shown is the cash wire price , and any payment method fees such as credit card fees , paypal fees , amazon fees , etc , will be added to the transaction total . prices may be higher if other payment methods are selected . some exclusions apply . see the list of designated major online retailers and full details .
unlike many other websites that have special rules and lots of fine print , urltoken offers free shipping on all domestic orders placed on our website , with no minimum order size or special exceptions . just because shipping is free doesn’t mean it should take a long time . urltoken understands that getting your item quickly is important to you , so we make every effort to process your order as quickly as possible .
rolex sa is the leading luxury watch manufacturer in the world producing over 2 , 000 watches per day that generate sales of over $ 7 billion dollars each year . the swiss based company manufactures , services and distributes wristwatches under the rolex and tudor brand through authorized dealers . it was founded in 1905 by hans wilsdorf and alfred davis in london , england and was recently ranked 57 on the worlds most powerful brands . the original name of the company was wilsdorf and davis . in 1919 , operations were relocated to geneva , switzerland . the brand today competes with other leading luxury watch companies like patek philippe , omega , and panerai and sponsors many major sports events in tennis , golf , yachting , and racing .


ionis pharmaceuticals ( nasdaq : ions ) ( known as isis pharmeceuticals until december 2015 ) is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company based in carlsbad , california , united states .

the company was founded in 1989 by stanley crooke , a former glaxosmithkline head of research , with a goal to commercialize antisense therapy .

the company received its first fda approval for an investigational new drug application in 1992 , marking the first time any antisense drug was approved to be tested in humans ; the ind was for isis ' genital warts drug candidate .

the company and others founded to bring antisense drugs to market faced early failures ; isis ' lead compound for genital warts failed in clinical trials and isis terminated development in 1995 ; by that time two other companies working on antisense , gilead sciences and genta had left the field , leaving isis , hybridon , and lynx therapeutics working in the field .

gilead sold the patents it had developed around antisense to isis .

in december 2015 isis changed its name to ionis , driven in part by the negative image of " isis " generated by the terrorist group , islamic state of iraq and the levant , commonly known as isil or isis .

ionis pharmaceuticals

ionis pharmaceuticals™ is a trademark of ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . akcea therapeutics™ is a trademark of ionis pharmaceuticals , inc .
see what the ihs markit score report has to say about ionis pharmaceuticals inc .
here ' s why the best is yet to come for ionis pharmaceuticals , inc .
ionis pharmaceuticals revises 2015 financial guidance and provides pipeline update in conjunction with j . p . morgan conference
, the company changed its name from isis pharmaceuticals , inc . to ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . in this press release , unless the context requires otherwise ,
ionis ,
company ,
we ,
our ,
and
us
refers to ionis pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries .
here ' s why the best is yet to come for ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . - - the motley fool
, chief financial officer of ionis pharmaceuticals .
we expect to end 2015 with a pro forma nol in the low
brian orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned . the motley fool owns shares of and recommends alnylam pharmaceuticals , biogen , and ionis pharmaceuticals . the motley fool has a disclosure policy .
ptc therapeutics spiked wednesday after an analyst suggested it and roche could rout biogen and ionis pharmaceuticals in treating spinal muscular atrophy .
here ' s why the best is yet to come for ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . @ themotleyfool # stocks $ ions , $ nvs
the companies , alnylam pharmaceuticals and isis pharmaceuticals , expect to announce today an equally owned joint venture to develop drugs that work by blocking so - called micro - rnas .
there ' s also ionis education group based in paris ; the ionis art hotel on the island of zakynthos , greece ; and ionis international , provider of pacific rim intercultural business training programs .
isis pharmaceuticals has changed its name to ionis pharmaceuticals , the carlsbad biotech company announced friday . with the new name - - free of any similarities to the widely used acronym for the islamic state terrorist group , comes a new stock ticker - - ions .
brian orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned . the motley fool owns shares of and recommends biogen and ionis pharmaceuticals . the motley fool has a disclosure policy .
kastle therapeutics has acquired global rights to develop and commercialize the marketed drug kynamro ® ( mipomersen sodium ) injection from ionis pharmaceuticals for up to $ 95 million - plus .
brian orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned . the motley fool owns shares of and recommends ionis pharmaceuticals and johnson & johnson . the motley fool has a disclosure policy .
the companies had partnered on nusinersen for sma— one of several collaborations by the companies —since 2012 , when ionis was known as isis pharmaceuticals and the sma candidate was called isis - smn rx .
ionis pharmaceuticals ( ions ) has developed many drugs for the treatment of various life - threatening diseases through its broadly applicable drug discovery platform . as mentioned in the previous part , ionis’s revenue grew 24 . 7 % yoy ( year - over - year ) in q1 2018 . the chart below shows ionis’s revenue since q1 2017 , and analysts’ estimate for q2 2018 .
ionis pharmaceuticals ( ions ) , an rna1 - targeted therapeutics development leader , commercializes products in collaboration with other pharmaceutical companies . in q1 2018 , ionis’s revenue grew 24 . 7 % yoy ( year - over - year ) to $ 144 . 4 million from $ 115 . 8 million .
ionis - dmpk - 2 . 5rx was being tested in myotonic dystrophy type 1 , which is caused by the toxic dmpk rna . like most of ionis ' drugs , ionis - dmpk - 2 . 5rx was designed to bind to the rna and degrade it . while ionis and its partner biogen saw some signs that the drug was working , it wasn ' t enough to justify taking ionis - dmpk - 2 . 5rx further into development .
several cure sma grants totaling over $ 500 , 000 were given to dr . ravi singh while at u massachusetts , to help develop the intellectual property needed to investigate asos for sma . the intellectual property generated with our funding was then licensed to ionis pharmaceuticals for an sma drug called spinraza ( originally called ionis - smnrx , then nusinersen ) . ionis partnered with biogen to continue developing this drug .
about ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . ionis is the leading company in rna - targeted drug discovery and development focused on developing drugs for patients who have the highest unmet medical needs , such as those patients with severe and rare diseases . using its proprietary antisense technology , ionis has created a large pipeline of first - in - class or best - in - class drugs , with over a dozen drugs in mid - to late - stage development . drugs currently in phase 3 development include volanesorsen , a drug ionis is developing and plans to commercialize through its wholly owned subsidiary , akcea therapeutics , to treat patients with familial chylomicronemia syndrome and familial partial lipodystrophy ; ionis - ttr rx , a drug ionis is developing with gsk to treat patients with all forms of ttr amyloidosis ; and nusinersen , a drug ionis is developing with biogen to treat infants and children with spinal muscular atrophy . ionis ' patents provide strong and extensive protection for its drugs and technology . additional information about ionis is available at urltoken .
biogen has exercised its option to develop and commercialize nusinersen following positive interim phase iii results , agreeing to advance the spinal muscular atrophy ( sma ) candidate in a deal that could generate $ 225 million - plus for ionis pharmaceuticals .
in 2015 , ionis added nine new drugs to its pipeline . already in 2016 , the company has added two new drugs to its pipeline : ionis - biib5 rx and ionis - biib6 rx . both new drugs are being developed together with biogen and are designed to address undisclosed targets for the treatment of patients with neurodegenerative diseases . ionis currently has a total of 38 drugs in its pipeline .
carlsbad , calif . , june 18 , 2018 / prnewswire / - - ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . ( ions ) today announced that damien mcdevitt , ph . d . has joined the company as chief business officer . just this year , ionis has seen its first commercial drug for a neurological disease , spinraza , reach blockbuster status .
biogen ( biib ) completed a pact to collaborate with ionis pharmaceuticals ( ions ) , and bought 11 . 5 million ionis shares for $ 625 million , paying $ 54 . 34 each . biogen also invested $ 375 million as an upfront payment to ionis to
jointly discover and develop novel antisense drugs for a broad range of neurological diseases ,
as stated in a press release . in total , biogen laid out $ 1 billion in cash .
ionis—which changed its name in december 2015 from isis pharmaceuticals—had been seeking a commercialization alternative since january , when it terminated its license agreement with sanofi , a genzyme company , to co - market kynamro : “we’ve been disappointed with the performance of genzyme for quite a while , ” ionis cbo sarah boyce told the san diego union - tribune at the time .
as discussed earlier , ionis pharmaceuticals’ ( ions ) revenue grew 24 . 7 % yoy ( year - over - year ) in q1 2018 , and analysts expect it to grow 30 . 6 % yoy to $ 136 . 0 million in q2 2018 . the graph below shows ionis’s commercial and r & d ( research and development ) revenue since q1 2017 .
mid - caps stocks , like ionis pharmaceuticals inc ( nasdaq : ions ) with a market capitalization of us $ 5 . 85b , aren’t the focus of most investors who prefer to direct their investments towards either large - cap or small - capread more . . .
the rest of the revenue came from the usual mix of milestone payments and licensing fees from ionis ' various partners .
in addition , ionis announced that results from the phase 1 / 2 study with ionis - ar - 2 . 5 rx in heavily pretreated , late - stage prostate cancer patients demonstrated encouraging data , including several durable reductions in psa levels . the drug also exhibited a good safety and tolerability profile supportive of continued development . data from this study will be presented later in the year . ionis plans to continue the development of ionis - ar - 2 . 5 rx independent of astrazeneca .
the deal marks kastle’s first acquisition since it was formed last year . kastle focuses on acquiring , developing , and commercializing pharmaceuticals targeted toward diseases with high unmet medical needs .
nusinersen is the first antisense drug from ionis’ neurological disease franchise to advance to regulatory review : “it illustrates the potential of our antisense technology to address severe diseases that other therapeutic modalities are unable to address adequately , ” added ionis coo b . lynne parshall .
however , the name has been used in other contexts . ionis is
a level 53 npc ,
( non - player character ) according to a world of warcraft fan page . and in another fantasy game , final fantasy xi , ionis is a beneficial magic spell .
next up in the late - stage pipeline , investors will get to see data from ionis - ttrrx , which treats familial amyloid polyneuropathy , sometime this quarter . assuming the data from the phase 3 trial are positive , ionis - ttrrx should be able to get onto the market soon after volanesorsen . positive data could also convince ionis ' marketing partner , glaxosmithkline , to test the drug against the cardiomyopathy version of the disease .
biogen has paid ionis a $ 75 million license fee after exercising its option to develop and commercialize nusinersen globally . biogen is now responsible for all nusinersen development , regulatory and commercialization activities , and costs , while ionis will complete the phase iii studies and work with biogen on regulatory filings .
basel , january 06 , 2017 - novartis announced today a collaboration and option agreement with ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . and its affiliate akcea therapeutics , inc . , to license two novel treatments with the potential to significantly reduce cardiovascular risk in patients suffering from high levels of lipoproteins known as lp ( a ) and apociii . the two investigational antisense therapies developed by ionis - called akcea - apo ( a ) - l rx and akcea - apociii - l rx - have the potential to lower both lipoproteins up to 90 % and significantly reduce cardiovascular risk in high - risk patient populations . in addition novartis entered into a stock purchase agreement with ionis .
carlsbad , calif . , june 5 , 2018 / prnewswire / - - ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . ( ions ) announced today that it closed its expanded strategic collaboration with biogen ( biib ) to discover and develop novel antisense drugs for a broad range of neurological diseases following receipt of clearance under the hart - scott - rodino ( hsr ) antitrust improvements act of 1976 . biogen paid ionis $ 1 billion in cash , which included $ 625 million for the purchase of 11 , 501 , 153 shares of ionis common stock at a price of $ 54 . 34 per share and a $ 375 million upfront payment . on april 20 , 2018 , ionis and biogen announced they would expand their strategic collaboration to develop novel antisense drugs for a broad range of neurological diseases through a new ten - year collaboration .
kastle agreed to pay ionis $ 15 million upfront , another $ 10 million due may 3 , 2019 , and up to $ 70 million in payments tied to achieving sales milestones . beginning in 2017 , kastle will pay ionis royalties on global sales of kynamro in the mid to low teen percentage range .
the new technology has gotten the backing of ionis ' partners . astrazeneca and johnson & johnson are developing drugs with ionis that use the combination of both technologies . bayer recently exercised its option to develop a lica - based drug and the aforementioned deal with novartis was for lica - based drugs as well .
these drugs work through the antisense technology pioneered by ionis . this technology blocks diseases at the genetic level , by blocking or changing the production of proteins .
and ionis recently got approved for spinal muscular atrophy , side effects aren ' t an issue because there aren ' t any other treatment options at the moment .
a decade of improvements , modifications , and collaboration with antisense therapeutics company isis ( now ionis ) pharmaceuticals resulted in the development of nusinersen—a drug delivered via spinal injection that is expected to become the first therapeutic for sma . in august , ionis halted its phase 3 trial in sma patients after interim analyses showed that infants receiving a spinal injection of nusinersen were better able to kick , stand , and walk than infants undergoing a sham procedure . “obviously , we’re extremely excited , ” says krainer . “it’s sort of beyond anyone’s most optimistic expectations . ”
however , 3 % of the cash payments that ionis receives from kastle—up to $ 2 . 85 million—plus a 3 % royalty on kynamro sales—will be earned by genzyme .
ionis recently announced plans to spin off its cardiovascular drugs , including volanesorsen and the novartis - partnered drugs , into a separate company called akcea . ionis will get royalties ranging from the mid - teens to the mid - 20s on the drug as well as a 50 % cut of the milestone payments and royalties from the novartis partnership .
the two companies said they will also work together to transition the clinical programs that ionis is conducting to biogen . in addition to the license fee , ionis could receive tiered royalties on potential sales of nusineren up to a percentage in the mid - teens , in addition to up to $ 150 million in milestone payments based on regulatory approvals .
for isis pharmaceuticals , a name change was not in consideration as recently as last year . but a company spokesman told cbs news this week that the tragedy “weighed heavily on us , and we don’t want to have that association . ”
and volanesorsen . any statement describing ionis ' goals , expectations , financial or other projections , intentions or beliefs is a forward - looking statement and should be considered an at - risk statement . such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties , particularly those inherent in the process of discovering , developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics , and in the endeavor of building a business around such drugs . ionis ' forward - looking statements also involve assumptions that , if they never materialize or prove correct , could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward - looking statements . although ionis ' forward - looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management , these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by ionis . as a result , you are cautioned not to rely on these forward - looking statements . these and other risks concerning ionis ' programs are described in additional detail in ionis ' annual report on form 10 - k for the year ended
“the promise is already here , ” john rossi , an rna biologist and cofounder of dicerna pharmaceuticals , wrote in an email to the scientist , adding that he sees “the next few years as becoming the era [ of oligonucleotide therapeutics ] . ”
it seemed to me that everybody came together and decided that ionis was a nice - sounding , feeling name , as soon as someone hit on it ,
crooke said .
in july , but it still owns 70 % of the shares after the ipo , so ionis will have to incorporate ackcea ' s financials into its own for the foreseeable future .
ionis has two drugs on the market , two more in late - stage development , and a large number of phase 2 drugs that could have proof of concept data shortly . to pay for those clinical trials , ionis phamraceuitcals has partnered many of its drugs while keeping some of the ones for smaller orphan indications where smaller clinical trials can be run relatively cheaply .
alnylam seemingly outperformed rival ionis in tests of drugs to treat a progressive rare disease , an analyst said thursday . both biotech companies are making treatments for a condition known as hereditary attr amyloidosis .
since we know the antisense technology works , it ' s likely that the issue is that ionis - dmpk - 2 . 5rx isn ' t getting into the muscles , where the toxic rna lies . as noted on the slide , ionis and biogen are exploring a ligand conjugated antisense ( lica ) strategy to target a drug directly to the muscle , which should increase the potency .
in related chmp news , the committee also advised against approval of vanda pharmaceuticals ' ( $ vnda ) fanaptum for treating schizophrenia , with the chmp raising concerns about evidence of marginal efficacy of the drug compared with placebo in studies and heart risks associated with the treatment .
ionis ' newest drugs use generation 2 . 5 chemistry that can provide up to a 10 - fold increase in potency over the generation 2 . 0 version . ionis has also developed a ligand - conjugated antisense ( lica ) technology that can target drugs to specific tissue . the combination of generation 2 . 5 and lica makes for very potent drugs , which can decrease doses and reduce side effects .
ionis still has five unpartnered drugs in its pipeline that it could license to generate more cash and has plans to add three to five drugs this year ( although some of those drugs could already be partnered under research collaborations with partners ) . and , to top it off , royalties income will ramp up as the launch of spinraza continues and volanesorsen and ionis - ttrrx are hopefully launched in the years to come .
over the years - - many , many years - - ionis has improved the technology to increase the drugs ' potency through increasing the binding of the drug to the rna and by decreasing degradation of the drug .
ionis is an empty vessel name , crooke said , without any inherent meaning other than what is created by what the company does . patent and other checks indicated that the name was free of legal problems or unwanted associations .
amazingly , despite having about two dozen drugs in the clinic and essentially no royalties from drugs yet , ionis was able to cover all of its expenses through up - front and milestone payments from partners during the fourth quarter .
stanley crooke , the ceo of ionis , is bluntly enthusiastic . “the babies [ with the severest disease ] are alive and the longer we treat the better they seem to get , ” he says . “it’s a miracle . ”
as discussed previously , analysts expect ionis pharmaceuticals’ ( ions ) revenue to grow yoy ( year - over - year ) in 30 . 6 % yoy to $ 136 . 0 million in q2 2018 . they expect the company to report an adjusted net loss of $ 24 . 3 million due to higher sg & a ( selling , general , and administrative ) and r & d ( research and development ) expenses , resulting in a loss per share of $ 0 . 09 . the chart below shows analysts’ recommendations for pfizer stock over the last 12 months .
companies called isis have been forced to confront how attached they are to the name . isis was once the name of a mobile payment technology and a new condo building in florida . they both changed their names last year . isis pharmaceuticals , a california biotech company founded in 1989 , told cnn it is now discussing the same move .
while that ' s fine for clinical trials , it may make it difficult for ionis ' drugs to compete with drugs that work as well but don ' t have side effects that need to be monitored . of course , for spinraza , which
the technologies are more similar than they are different , notes c . frank bennett , senior vice president of research at isis pharmaceuticals .
at the end of the day , they ' re both catalytic mechanisms and antisense mechanisms , in that the antisense strand is what binds to the target and causes cleavage of the message ,
he says .
despite considerable progress in oligonucleotide delivery , clinical successes have been balanced with setbacks that serve as reminders that the path to commercialization is never guaranteed . in august , for example , biopharmaceutical company and ionis partner oncogenex announced that its antisense drug custirsen failed to improve survival of patients with prostate cancer in late - stage clinical trials . and earlier this year , ionis reported dangerous reductions in platelets among patients in phase 3 trials for two unconjugated antisense therapies , one for a rare cardiac condition , and one for elevated triglycerides . although most drugs in ionis’s pipeline are now conjugated , which the company hopes will avoid such side effects , the announcement triggered a 40 percent plunge in share prices in may . ( shares are now recovering as the company makes progress with nusinersen . )
ionis is built on a platform technology called antisense where the drug binds to a specific rna and , for most of the drugs , signal for their degradation . lower levels of the rna results in lower levels of the disease - causing protein the rna codes for .
akcea therapeutics , inc . ( akca ) , an affiliate of ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . , focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat people with serious and rare diseases , today announced completion of a new study to assess the burden of people living with familial chylomicronemia syndrome ( fcs ) and its impact on their daily lives . results from the study known as re - focus were published on june 11 , 2018 in the peer - reviewed journal expert review of cardiovascular therapy . the web - based global study was conducted among people with fcs treated with volanesorsen , akcea’s investigational therapy currently under regulatory review in the us , eu and canada .
akcea therapeutics , inc . ( akca ) , an affiliate of ionis pharmaceuticals , inc . , focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat people with serious and rare diseases , today announced completion of a new study to assess the burden of people living with familial chylomicronemia syndrome ( fcs ) and its impact on their daily lives . results from the study known as re - focus were published on june 11 , 2018 in the peer - reviewed journal expert review of cardiovascular therapy . the web - based global study was conducted among people with fcs treated with volanesorsen , akcea ` s investigational therapy currently under regulatory review in the us , eu and canada .
but it wasn ' t just the unsavory association that caused isis to become ionis , ( pronounced “eye - oh - nis
) said stanley t . crooke , the company ' s chairman and chief executive . it was the potential problems the confusion could cause for isis employees .
that pipeline contains dozens of medicines for severe or rare diseases such as various cancers , diabetes , spinal muscular atrophy and cardiovascular diseases . the phase 3 drugs are nusinersen , for spinal muscular atrophy ; volanesorsen , for high triglycerides ; and ionis - ttrrx , for ttr cardiomyopathy amyloidosis .
last may , ionis announced that it had discovered cases of thrombocytopenia - - low blood platelet levels - - in patients taking two of its drugs . the clinical trial protocols were amended to increase testing of platelet levels , which has eliminated the occurrence of
serious platelet events .
the main difference between the two approaches is that the mechanism of first - and second - generation oligonucleotide - based drugs is fairly well - characterized , whereas rnai is still in its early days . in fact , alnylam pharmaceuticals , a leader in rnai , only recently showed that short interfering rnas could have a systemic effect , a feat achieved long ago by earlier generations of antisense molecules .
reported $ 203 million in sales of their spinal muscular atrophy drug , spinraza , during its second full year on the market , netting ionis $ 22 . 4 million in royalties on sales of the drug . the royalties are tiered and should increase as a percentage of sales as spinraza sales increase .
more recently , alnylam has conjugated its sirnas to the sugar molecule n - acetylgalactosamine ( galnac ) to give the drugs even greater affinity for hepatocytes , improve potency , and reduce off - target effects . early - stage testing of fitusiran , a galnac - conjugated sirna targeting a liver - produced protein associated with hemophilia , is ongoing , the company says . meanwhile , ionis has already adopted a similar method to conjugate galnac with antisense oligonucleotides destined for the liver—an advance that ionis claims improves delivery and provides a more than 30 - fold increase in potency over unconjugated approaches currently in trials . rnai company arrowhead pharmaceuticals is also using galnac to help deliver oligonucleotides to the liver , but instead of conjugating it directly to the sirna , the company’s dynamic polyconjugate ( dpc ) technology links the sugar to the sirna via a polymer that helps protect the cargo until it enters a cell . a recent clinical study on hepatitis b therapeutic arc - 520 found that the drug inhibits the production of viral protein in infected patients by up to 99 percent after a single dose .
on a rocky road toward hoped - for approvals , sanofi ' s ( $ sny ) mipomersen has hit a serious rut with european regulators . a european medicines agency panel handed down a negative opinion late this week on the antisense drug from isis pharmaceuticals ( $ isis ) for treating a genetic disease that causes blood cholesterol to jump , citing safety concerns such as signs of liver toxicity and cardiovascular risks in patients in clinical trials .
it took several glancing blows and one heck of a sucker punch to fully shake the confidence of the investment community in oligonucleotide - based antisense therapeutics . a major hit came as early as 1998 , when gilead sciences , a pioneer in the antisense space , abandoned the technology after its gene - code - blocking development pact with glaxo wellcome fell apart . gilead subsequently sold its antisense patent estate , which had been more than a decade in the making , to isis pharmaceuticals .
even with a relatively small number of patients , ionis was able to show beyond any doubt that volanesorsen could reduce triglyceride levels better than the placebo . sure , management is gloating a little , listing all of those zeros after the decimal point , but it has a right to be excited about the data - - and volanesorsen ' s potential .
participants enrolled in the sham - controlled arm of embrace , a phase ii study that also included infantile - onset patients , will have the opportunity to receive nusinersen , biogen and ionis said . other studies in the nusinersen program , including cherish ( later - onset consistent with type 2 ) and nurture ( presymptomatic infants ) , will continue as planned .
, chief operating officer at ionis .
we have also demonstrated in 2015 that the advances we are making in our technology continue to make better and better medicines , which allows us to expand the application of our drugs to new tissues , new targets and new diseases . all of this sets us up for an exciting and event - filled 2016 .
ionis ' antisense technology is currently the most effective way to inhibit synthesis of both lipoproteins in the liver , according to data published in the lancet [ 1 ] . the galnac3 - conjugated antisense oligonucleotide technology is 30 times more potent than the parent antisense oligonucleotide , leading to a lower dose and the potential for highly effective therapeutic targeting and much improved tolerability .
on the basis of those findings , biogen and ionis said , the endear study will be stopped and participants will be able to join the shine open - label study in which all patients receive nusinersen . data from the other endpoints of endear will be analyzed when the full data set is available , with results to be presented at future medical congresses , the companies said .
the arrival of vitravene , a short strand of 21 dna molecular units that blocks viral replication , was hailed as a major milestone for the biotech industry and was widely anticipated to usher in a new era of antisense products . but no more came . and by the middle of the last decade , isis pharmaceuticals , the carlsbad , california–based company behind vitravene , ended up pulling the therapy from the market because improvements in other antiretrovirals had effectively eliminated the drug’s target market . boni’s cautionary words proved all too prescient .
sanofi ' s genzyme unit , leading the regulatory charge for mipomersen , which the company hopes to market under the name kynamro , plans to request the ema give its application another look through a re - examination process . yet the fortunes of the program appear to be waning with every safety red flag reviewers have raised about the drug . and aegerion pharmaceuticals ( $ aegr ) has a rival oral therapy for the same disease that has already gained wider support from the fda panel that narrowly recommended approval of mipomersen months ago .
researchers , pharmaceutical companies , and investors now anxiously await results from several late - stage trials , anticipated in 2017 , as well as nusinersen’s approval , for confirmation that oligonucleotide therapeutics are finally reaching maturity . “every year it seems like we’ve gotten closer , ” says phillip zamore , director of the rna institute at the university of massachusetts school of medicine and cofounder of rnai therapeutics company alnylam pharmaceuticals . even rnai drugs , which joined the game later than antisense , are catching up , he adds . “now there are phase 3 clinical trials . ”
it appears from the phase 3 data that volanesorsen should be able to get approved . it ' s not a perfect drug - - it has some side effects - - but the risk - benefit profile looks strong enough to gain approval , especially given the unmet need in patients with rare diseases - - familial partial lipodystrophy and familial chylomicronemia syndrome - - that cause severely high triglyceride levels , which ionis is going after .
in 2003 , adrian krainer and his postdoctoral colleague luca cartegni , biochemists at the cold sping harbor laboratory in new york , engineered a synthetic , rna - like molecule that in the test tube changed how the transcripts from smn2 are spliced into the mature messenger rnas that then are translated into protein—in principle , this could boost production of the normal , full - length smn protein . three thousand miles away , at isis—now renamed ionis—a scientist named frank bennett noticed the work , published in nature structural biology , and called krainer . the spinal muscular atrophy foundation provided funding for krainer to hire researcher yimin hua . hua’s extensive work in krainer’s lab , in collaboration with ionis , led to the identification and preclinical development of nusinersen , a snippet of modified rna called an antisense oligonucleotide that intervenes in the splicing process to ensure that smn2 expresses the full - length smn protein .
even with the inevitable failures , ionis has plenty of additional drug candidates to take their place . check out the chart in the lower right ; that ' s a list of drugs expected to enter the clinic in the next 18 months . it ' s hard to read the details , but it ' s the volume of drug candidates , not necessarily what diseases the new crop of drugs will treat , that investors should be excited about .
in may , the company reported positive results for its neuro - ttr phase 3 trial testing inotersen in patients with hereditary ttr amyloidosis . glaxosmithkline handed back rights to the drug , but this may be a it ' s - not - you - it ' s - me kind of breakup , since glaxosmithkline is undergoing a strategic review of its assets . ionis is shooting to file marketing applications for inotersen in the u . s . and eu by the end of the year .
while that ' s good news , and ionis has next - generation technologies that are even more potent - - generation 2 - plus - - where it thinks the lower doses aren ' t causing thrombocytopenia side effects , the lack of serious events doesn ' t mean the current late - stage drugs aren ' t reducing platelet levels ; it ' s just that patients with low - but - not - serious platelet levels can be taken off the drug , avoiding major problems .
novartis is building a robust cardiovascular portfolio of targeted therapies to address unmet medical need of high - risk patients ,
said vasant narasimhan , global head , drug development and chief medical officer , novartis .
lp ( a ) and apociii are potent , genetically validated cardiovascular risk reduction targets . the importance of predictive biomarkers in achieving successful cardiovascular outcomes will also be essential in the future payer environment . we look forward to working with ionis and akcea to develop both treatments .
although just published in the lancet , those findings have since been overtaken by strikingly positive results from the larger phase iii trials . in their november announcement about the second trial’s halt , ionis and biogen , which has licensed nusinersen and has dubbed it spinraza , said the treated children experienced a “highly statistically significant improvement” in motor function compared to untreated children . the companies had used an established , widely used test of motor movements that monitors actions like sitting , standing , putting the hands on the head and taking steps .
after extensive preclinical development and testing , the drug began trials in sma patients in late 2011 . in a phase ii trial described in the lancet today , ionis and academic collaborators report that it extended the life spans and improved the motor function of babies with severe sma , compared with the disease courses in natural history studies of untreated babies . to receive nusinersen , the babies had to have developed sma symptoms between 3 weeks and 6 months of age ; the drug was injected into the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the spinal cord .
while ionis ' approved drugs and those in phase 3 development will dictate the biotech ' s near - term future , long - term results will come from the success of its next - generation technologies . adding lica to the molecules as well as chemistry changes in the structure between generation 2 - plus and generation 2 . 5 lower the effective dose required to treat 50 % of the population ( ed50 ) . with increased potency will hopefully come decreased side effects and the ability to target new diseases in different parts of the body .
about novartis novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies . headquartered in basel , switzerland , novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs : innovative medicines , eye care and cost - saving generic pharmaceuticals . novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas . in 2015 , the group achieved net sales of usd 49 . 4 billion , while r & d throughout the group amounted to approximately usd 8 . 9 billion ( usd 8 . 7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges ) . novartis group companies employ approximately 118 , 000 full - time - equivalent associates . novartis products are available in more than 180 countries around the world . for more information , please visit urltoken .
“these [ infant - onset ] sma kids are going to die . and not only are they now not dying , you are essentially on the path to a true cure of a degenerative [ neurological ] disease , which is unheard of , ” says jeffrey rothstein , a neurologist at the johns hopkins school of medicine in baltimore , maryland , who was not affiliated with the trials of the drug and is not connected with either of the two companies involved in its development : ionis of carlsbad , california , and biogen of cambridge , massachusetts .
consequently , most oligonucleotide therapeutics companies have focused on the liver . ionis has antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics in more than 10 clinical trials targeting diseases in the organ , from thrombosis to hepatocellular carcinoma . and alnylam’s most advanced therapeutic is an intravenous , nanoparticle - carried drug called patisiran , an rnai treatment that knocks down the translation of a mutated protein made in the livers of patients with a rare disease called hereditary amyloidosis . results from phase 3 trials of the drug are expected in 2017 and , if successful , could pave the way for the first approval of an rnai therapeutic .
pipeline update ionis management will present an update today on its drug development pipeline at the j . p . morgan conference , including an update on its ongoing open - label phase 2 clinical study of nusinersen in infants with type i spinal muscular atrophy ( sma ) . previously the company reported data from this study on event - free survival , measures of muscle function and assessments of developmental milestones . the data reported today show continued increases in median event - free survival and muscle function scores . the safety and tolerability profile of nusinersen to date continues to support further development .
here , we present retrospective and prospective examples of how early analysis of headroom may aid in decisions along a translational continuum . the first example illustrates the need for analysis of future market prospects—technologies may fail close to clinical adoption if the expected health benefit shrinks at the time of market entry . vitravene ( fomivirsen ) , an antisense therapy developed at the national institutes of health and licensed by isis pharmaceuticals , inc , was approved by the fda in august 1998 to treat cytomegalovirus retinitis ( cmv - r ) . during its development in the 1990s , aids had transformed cmv - r from a rare disease into one of the most common ocular infections in the united states . when approved for use , vitravene was a biomedical breakthrough as the first fda - approved antisense therapy . while vitravene was in phase 3 clinical trials , highly active anti - retroviral therapy ( haart ) regimen , the “3 - drug cocktail” , was developed to suppress hiv replication and allow the immune system to recover . as a consequence , the number of new cases of cmv - r declined by nearly 75 % . when vitravene reached the market , distributed by novartis ophthalmics ag , haart had been standard therapy for about a year . new cases of cmv - r were less common , and many existing cases no longer needed treatment ; in other words , the health crisis that vitravene was designed to address had receded and sales of the product were much lower than predicted . as a result , novartis no longer markets vitravene , but isis pharmaceuticals still cites vitravene as evidence of its “ability to meet fda and european regulatory requirements for safety and efficacy , and for the commercial manufacture of antisense drugs . ”
although targeting other tissues is challenging , some companies are now making strides to do just that . ionis , for example , has developed modified antisense oligonucleotides that show effective targeting to cells in the kidney . arrowhead , meanwhile , is working on dpcs that will target cells in non - liver tissues such as tumors by incorporating ligands that target cell type–specific surface proteins . “it’s a matter of finding the right receptor - ligand combinations and to figure out how to conjugate the proper ligands , ” explains krainer . “down the line , i think one could have a set of conjugates that would allow you to target particular organs . ”
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mipomersen , to which sanofi gained rights through its 2011 buyout of genzyme , narrowly passed muster with an fda panel in october with a rems plan to track the safety of the therapy in patients taking it for the genetic disease , homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia ( hofh ) . the ema ' s committee for medicinal products for human use ( chmp ) , however ,
was not convinced that the company had proposed sufficient measures to prevent the risk of irreversible liver damage ,
the ema stated in a document .
we are disappointed by the committee ' s recommendation . patients with hofh carry extreme , ongoing cardiovascular risk with significantly elevated ldl - c levels despite use of currently available therapies ,
said david meeker , president and ceo , genzyme .
this is a rare disease patient population , with a life - threatening condition , in need of new therapies . we will work closely with the chmp during the re - examination process to address the committee ' s concerns , with the goal of making this important medication available to hofh patients in europe .
isis certainly has a lot riding on mipomersen too , as the company has been prolific in securing partnerships , notably with with biogen idec ( $ biib ) and astrazeneca ( $ azn ) , and slow to advance its antisense therapies to the market .
the european commission gets the final say on drug approvals and often follows the advice of the chmp .
sanofi ' s cholesterol drug shot down by ema . is aegerion ' s lomitapide a better bet for approval ? with input from @ ryanmfierce
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two biotechnology companies are joining forces in commercial pursuit of an emerging scientific field that could lead to treatments for numerous diseases .
micro - rnas , virtually unheard of a few years ago , are tiny snippets of rna — the chemical cousin of the genetic material dna — that have been found to play a major role in controlling biological processes . scientists have identified about 500 different micro - rnas that are made by human cells , and these snippets in turn appear to influence the activity of thousands of genes .
studies have already linked micro - rnas to cancer , viral infections , immune disorders and other diseases . so blocking specific micro - rnas — or perhaps stimulating them — could theoretically provide a powerful way to treat diseases .
“it’s as if we’ve discovered a new kingdom of regulation in biological metabolism that we didn’t know was there , ” said david baltimore , a nobel laureate and the president emeritus of the california institute of technology , who will be a director of the new company as well as chairman of its scientific advisory board .
the new company , called regulus therapeutics , will be equally owned by isis and alnylam but will have its own management and board . the management team has not been identified yet .
both alnylam and isis are pioneers in developing drugs that are made of rna and seek to suppress particular genes . the companies hope that combining their skills — and their patents — will allow them to dominate the micro - rna therapeutics business .
“this is the first time i’ve seen a biological advance as broad as this where the intellectual property is as concentrated in a single company as with regulus , ” said stanley crooke , chief executive of isis .
other companies are also starting to focus on micro - rna . one is rosetta genomics , an israeli company that is already collaborating with isis .
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so far , however , rna - related drugs have been difficult to develop . isis , based in carlsbad , calif . , has had many setbacks developing drugs using a technology called antisense . but its stock has nearly doubled in the last year on hopes for a drug that has sharply lowered cholesterol in clinical trials .
alnylam , based in cambridge , mass . , is trying to develop drugs that turn off specific genes by harnessing a natural phenomenon called rna interference . two of the discoverers of the phenomenon were awarded the nobel prize last year .
micro - rnas are related to rna interference . but john maraganore , chief executive of alnylam , said that while his company aims to shut off specific genes , regulus might be able to inactivate entire networks of genes . the broader effect , he conceded , could raise the risk of side effects .
to block a micro - rna , regulus will probably use the antisense approach — synthesizing short strands of an rna - like molecule that would bind to the micro - rna and inactivate it .
both companies are contributing intellectual property rights to regulus . alnylam is also contributing $ 10 million , since it has fewer patents to offer .
after this agreement , the companies will fund the venture equally . mr . crooke said that regulus , which is likely to be based in the san diego area , is expected to have about 20 people employed next year and to spend up to $ 20 million over its first two years . regulus has no drugs in clinical trials yet .
victor ambros , a professor at dartmouth who in the early 1990s discovered the first micro - rna , in the roundworm , said it was exciting to see companies being formed . “there’s a lot of excitement , and i think justifiably so , for the prospect of targeting the micro - rnas , ” said professor ambros , who has no ties to the companies .
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the owners of a bookstore in colorado that was vandalized earlier this week want the islamic state to be referred to as daesh .
a woman’s facebook account was disabled . a bookstore was vandalized . and one company , moved by the attacks on paris , just doesn’t want the association anymore .
while the name isis has become synonymous with a terrorist organization , the islamic state of iraq and syria , it is also the name of a well - known egyptian goddess .
many women are named isis , including 396 babies born in the united states last year .
for the world’s many isises , each act of horror carried out by the islamic state has been accompanied by the unsettling and repeated use of their name in news reports . an online petitioner has even gathered almost 57 , 000 supporters to call on the news media to stop using the acronym .
“i named my daughter isis because it’s strong and meaningful , ” wrote one commenter on the petition , shani allman of florida . “to have it degraded and have her jeopardized by the media’s insensitivity is completely disturbing . ”
a woman in britain wrote that her 7 - year - old daughter , who was named after the goddess , went to bed crying “because people were being horrible to her about her name . ”
part of the river thames in britain remains known by the name , as does a feminist club at fordham university and the labrador in “downton abbey . ” the dog has been killed off from the show — though not because of its name . the cartoon “archer” also had to adjust the name of its spy agency . ( fans of comics and 1970s television may recall isis as the name of a superhero . )