Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton expects an appeal decision for tenapanor by April
Shares of this stock are in the spotlight on Wednesday after Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton upgraded shares to Buy and quintupled his price target on the stock to $5. Among “a sea” of small-to-mid cap biotech companies trading near cash, the analyst thinks Ardelyx (ARDX) “stands out” given that the company has an approved IBS-C product, Isbrela, that will launch in April and whose commercial opportunity is validated by Linzess and Trulance.
BUY ARDELYX: Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton upgraded Ardelyx to Buy from Hold with a price target of $5, up from $1. Among “a sea” of small-to-mid cap biotech companies trading near cash, the analyst believes Ardelyx “stands out” given that the company has an approved irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, or IBS-C, product, Ibsrela, that will launch in April and whose commercial opportunity is validated by competitors Linzess and Trulance. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD) and AbbVie’s (ABBV) Linzess achieved $1B in sales in 2021, while Salix Pharmaceuticals’ Trulance achieved over $100M in 2021 sales, Howerton noted. He estimates peak Ibsrela IBS-C sales just shy of $300M.
Ibsrela in IBS-C is supported by two randomized well controlled Phase 3 trials and long-term safety data, the analyst pointed out. Ibsrela inhibits the gut’s absorption of sodium, providing a novel mechanism of treating constipation in IBS-C patients. Ibsrela Phase 3 studies met its primary endpoint of combined responder rate in Trial 1 and Trial 2, a 13% and 8% pbo-adjusted increase in proportion of responders, respectively, for the studies, Howerton added. Linzess demonstrated better efficacy overall in its Phase 3s, but Ibsrela is competitive with Trulance and has a different mechanism of action, he contended.
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