GNPX - Genprex (GNPX) - NIH Grant Provides Validation for Diabetes Program
Awarded an NIH Grant. Yesterday, Genprex (GNPX) announced that a grant of $2.59 million awarded to the company by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This grant will fund the ongoing preclinical research for proof-of-principle studies in preparation for human gene therapy clinical trials of GPX-002 in type 1 diabetes.Diverse portfolio with large market potential. Genprex’s lead drug candidate Oncoprex is currently being evaluated in combination with erlotinib for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Phase 2 clinical study. The company plans to assess Oncoprex in combination with Tagrisso and Keytruda, the trials are expected to commence in the next 12 months of period. Beyond NSCLC, Genprex is assessing GPX-002 to treat patients with type 1 diabetes, this program is currently at preclinical stage. Both NSCLC and diabetes markets represent tremendous market opportunities for the company. While NSCLC sales reached $22.6 billion, type 1 diabetes sales were $4.1 billion in 2019.Other recent developments. In 2020, the company received Fast Track Designation (FTD) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Oncoprex in combination with Osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the treatment of patients with NSCLC. Genprex also joined the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 Index on June 26, 2020. We believe all these developments in addition to yesterday’s news on the grant by NIH validates the company’s portfolio, technology, and market potential.Increasing the price target. In our view, GNPX continues to manifest a strong profile. The shares gained over 1000% in value YTD-2020. We foresee value expansion upon additional data readouts and initiation of clinical trials in the next 12 months. Based on the recent developments and milestones and the expansion of potential market opportunity, we are increasing our price target to $7 from $5. We value Genprex using a risk-adjusted discounted cash flow model based on a WACC of 13.1%. We are reiterating our Outperform rating.Read More >>