GSK - Intercept Pharma gains on H.C. Wainwright double upgrade

2023-07-13 08:04:34 ET

Intercept Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ: ICPT ) gained ~10% pre-market Thursday after H.C. Wainwright upgraded it to Buy from Sell, citing a novel drug combination the company is developing for an autoimmune disease called primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).

"We now expect this life-cycle management combo therapy has the potential to substantially extend the PBC business and garner a significant share of the market," the analyst Ed Arce wrote, raising his price target on ICPT to $19 from $8 per share.

Citing interim readouts from two Phase 2 trials, Intercept ( ICPT ) said in June that its FDA-approved therapy, obeticholic acid (OCA) with bezafibrate, normalized a range of biomarkers of PBC.

According to Arce, strong interim results from a mid-stage trial for the drug combination "look to breathe new, longer life to the franchise."

The analyst argues that Intercept ( ICPT ) will continue to expand the PBC market with CymaBay ( CBAY ) and GSK ( GSK ) and, to a lesser degree, with Ipsen ( OTCPK:IPSEY ), ( OTCPK:IPSEF ), and Genfit ( GNFT ).

More on Intercept

• Intercept Pharmaceuticals to end NASH program following FDA feedback
• Intercept crashes 29% after FDA AdCom snub for liver disease therapy
• Intercept Pharmaceuticals: Management Targets 'Pivot To Profitability' After NASH CRL

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