Capricor Stock Soars, Shkreli Is Short: Here's What Pharma Bro Had To Say

Core Insights - Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. experienced a significant stock surge of 356%, reaching $29.02, following the announcement of positive topline data from the Phase 3 HOPE-3 trial for its lead cell therapy candidate, deramiocel [1][10] - The stock rally resulted in a "short squeeze," leading to substantial losses for short sellers, particularly Martin Shkreli, who had publicly bet against the company's success [2][9] Company Developments - Capricor's CEO, Linda Marbán, stated that the HOPE-3 results provide "strong and definitive evidence" that deramiocel can significantly improve the course of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and the company plans to use this data to address a previous Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA [8] - The positive data release has been characterized as a game-changer for Capricor, marking a major defeat for those who had shorted the stock [9] Market Reactions - Martin Shkreli, a prominent short-seller, had previously identified Capricor as a target for shorting, predicting the stock would fall to around $2 per share, but the positive trial results contradicted his expectations [3][4] - Following the data release, Shkreli criticized the company, alleging that it did not meet a "prespecified primary endpoint" and suggesting that the reported results were based on "post-hoc analyses" [6][7]