Post by tomsylver on Jun 20, 2017 20:41:10 GMT
Could Tesaro Overcome Clovis' Lead On Combos With Merck & Co.?
New Brain And Ovarian Cancer Risk Findings
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ALLISON GATLIN4:15 PM ET
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Tesaro's (TSRO) Zejula would likely outperform drugs from Clovis Oncology (CLVS) and AstraZeneca (AZN) when combined with treatments from big-name pharmaceutical companies, an analyst suggested Tuesday.
Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez suggested that Tesaro would do better mixed with drugs from Dow's Merck (MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) or Roche (RHHBY). His suggestion came a day after Clovis unveiled strong data for its drug Rubraca in ovarian cancer. The Phase 3 trial, dubbed Ariel-3, signals that Clovis could get a broader label than expected in ovarian cancer.
On Tuesday, Wall Street scrambled to differentiate drugs from AstraZeneca, Clovis and Tesaro, all of which have what are known as PARP inhibitors. These drugs aim to block a family of enzymes that cancer cells use to proliferate.
Differentiating Tesaro's Zejula from Clovis' Rubraca and AstraZeneca's Lynparza will likely come down to how well it combines with immuno-oncology drugs to block interactions involving the PD-1 and PD-L1 proteins in the immune system.
"Zejula appears to be the only late-stage PARP inhibitor that is both combinable with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors and crosses the blood-brain barrier," Fernandez said in a note to clients.
Tesaro's drug appears to be less toxic in the liver, which will be important in immuno-oncology combos. And the ability to cross the blood-brain battier will help Tesaro get a foothold in breast and lung cancers, which commonly spread to the brain.
But Fernandez cut his price target on Tesaro stock to 143 from 158, though he still has a market perform rating on shares. He sees an even split for Tesaro and Clovis in ovarian cancer patients who've already undergone two rounds of prior therapy.
IBD'S TAKE: Merck, Bristol and Roche are all working in the immuno-oncology space. Head to IBD Industry Themes for a closer look at how they performed during the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting earlier this month in Chicago.
Fernandez and Janney analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay see AstraZeneca benefiting from Clovis' trial, which shows that PARP inhibitors are more similar than dissimilar. Lynparza is approved to treat ovarian cancer patients with a mutation of the BRCA gene.
PARP inhibitors are thought to work better in patients with a BRCA genetic mutation, though Clovis' trial showed responses in all patients regardless of genetics. Still, doctors' preference for screening patients for that mutation could benefit AstraZeneca.
Chattopadhyay kept his neutral rating on Tesaro stock, but trimmed his price target to 120 from 139. Like Fernandez, he sees Tesaro having a leg-up on Clovis in immuno-oncology combos, but notes that its in-house anti-PD-1 antibody is far from mature.
He also upgraded Clovis stock to a buy rating with a 107 price target. Clovis stock flew 46.5% on Monday following the trial. Meanwhile, Tesaro stock is still "being buoyed by (the) M&A rumor mill," Chattopadhyay said. Gilead Sciences (GILD) is a rumored potential acquirer.
Credit Suisse analyst Alethia Young, too, boosted her price target on Clovis stock to 107 from 88, though she kept her outperform rating on its shares. The top-line success in its Ariel-3 trial shows Rubraca can have a "meaningful market opportunity" in the PARP space, she said.
At the close on the stock market today, Clovis stock was up 0.9%, near 88.68, as Tesaro stock dove 3.5% to 137.97. AstraZeneca stock lifted less than 0.2% to 34.72.
New Brain And Ovarian Cancer Risk Findings
Inform
ALLISON GATLIN4:15 PM ET
FacebookLinkedInPrintTwitterShare Reprints
Tesaro's (TSRO) Zejula would likely outperform drugs from Clovis Oncology (CLVS) and AstraZeneca (AZN) when combined with treatments from big-name pharmaceutical companies, an analyst suggested Tuesday.
Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez suggested that Tesaro would do better mixed with drugs from Dow's Merck (MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) or Roche (RHHBY). His suggestion came a day after Clovis unveiled strong data for its drug Rubraca in ovarian cancer. The Phase 3 trial, dubbed Ariel-3, signals that Clovis could get a broader label than expected in ovarian cancer.
On Tuesday, Wall Street scrambled to differentiate drugs from AstraZeneca, Clovis and Tesaro, all of which have what are known as PARP inhibitors. These drugs aim to block a family of enzymes that cancer cells use to proliferate.
Differentiating Tesaro's Zejula from Clovis' Rubraca and AstraZeneca's Lynparza will likely come down to how well it combines with immuno-oncology drugs to block interactions involving the PD-1 and PD-L1 proteins in the immune system.
"Zejula appears to be the only late-stage PARP inhibitor that is both combinable with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors and crosses the blood-brain barrier," Fernandez said in a note to clients.
Tesaro's drug appears to be less toxic in the liver, which will be important in immuno-oncology combos. And the ability to cross the blood-brain battier will help Tesaro get a foothold in breast and lung cancers, which commonly spread to the brain.
But Fernandez cut his price target on Tesaro stock to 143 from 158, though he still has a market perform rating on shares. He sees an even split for Tesaro and Clovis in ovarian cancer patients who've already undergone two rounds of prior therapy.
IBD'S TAKE: Merck, Bristol and Roche are all working in the immuno-oncology space. Head to IBD Industry Themes for a closer look at how they performed during the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting earlier this month in Chicago.
Fernandez and Janney analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay see AstraZeneca benefiting from Clovis' trial, which shows that PARP inhibitors are more similar than dissimilar. Lynparza is approved to treat ovarian cancer patients with a mutation of the BRCA gene.
PARP inhibitors are thought to work better in patients with a BRCA genetic mutation, though Clovis' trial showed responses in all patients regardless of genetics. Still, doctors' preference for screening patients for that mutation could benefit AstraZeneca.
Chattopadhyay kept his neutral rating on Tesaro stock, but trimmed his price target to 120 from 139. Like Fernandez, he sees Tesaro having a leg-up on Clovis in immuno-oncology combos, but notes that its in-house anti-PD-1 antibody is far from mature.
He also upgraded Clovis stock to a buy rating with a 107 price target. Clovis stock flew 46.5% on Monday following the trial. Meanwhile, Tesaro stock is still "being buoyed by (the) M&A rumor mill," Chattopadhyay said. Gilead Sciences (GILD) is a rumored potential acquirer.
Credit Suisse analyst Alethia Young, too, boosted her price target on Clovis stock to 107 from 88, though she kept her outperform rating on its shares. The top-line success in its Ariel-3 trial shows Rubraca can have a "meaningful market opportunity" in the PARP space, she said.
At the close on the stock market today, Clovis stock was up 0.9%, near 88.68, as Tesaro stock dove 3.5% to 137.97. AstraZeneca stock lifted less than 0.2% to 34.72.