GOSS - Gossamer downgraded at Raymond James after Merck data for PAH candidate
2023-03-07 12:08:06 ET
- Merck’s ( MRK ) newly published full Phase 3 data for sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has led Raymond James to downgrade the rival PAH drug developer Gossamer Bio ( NASDAQ: GOSS ) to Market Perform from Outperform on Tuesday.
- The firm points out that Merck ( MRK ), in its pivotal STELLAR trial, showed an improvement of 40.8 meters in the 6-minute walk distance for sotatercept-treated patients, besting the results from a Phase 2 trial called PULSAR.
- Pointing to data indicating that the biologic also cut the risk of clinical worsening or death in PAH patients by 84%, Raymond James argued that the finding supports sotatercept’s prospects “as the new standard of care on top of existing therapies.”
- “Based on these results, Gossamer may need to run another Phase 2 as an add-on to sotatercept or run a Phase 3 in FC III patients only,” the analyst added, highlighting the challenges for the company’s PAH candidate seralutinib, given Merck ( MRK ) data.
- Ahead of the readout, Guggenheim launched its coverage on Gossamer ( GOSS ) with a Neutral rating, while Seeking Alpha contributor Avisol Capital Partners issued a Sell rating.
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Gossamer downgraded at Raymond James after Merck data for PAH candidate