MRTX - Mirati wins bullish view at Piper on prospects for new cancer therapy

Piper Sandler launched its coverage on oncology-focused biotech Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. ( NASDAQ: MRTX ) with an Overweight rating and a $110 per share target on Thursday, citing the potential of its experimental cancer therapy adagrasib compared to a rival drug from Amgen ( AMGN ).

While AMGN has already received FDA approval for its oral KRASG12C inhibitor Lumakras, MRTX’s rival therapy, adagrasib, is currently under FDA review as a second-line option in lung cancer.

Piper analyst Swapnil Malekar argues that adagrasib has a competitive advantage as it outperforms Lumakras across key attributes as a single agent and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors such as Merck’s ( MRK ) Keytruda.

The analyst points to characteristics such as plasma half-life, a measure indicating how quickly a drug is removed from the blood, brain penetration, volume of distribution, and safety/efficacy.

In addition, citing initial data, Malekar notes that adagrasib has the potential to become the “drug of choice” in colorectal cancer.

Finally, the firm highlighted MRTX’s kinase inhibitor sitravatinib, noting that the company is successfully advancing its registrational trial and the drug has the potential to achieve a meaningful market share in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Read: MRTX shares gained in August after AMGN posted early-stage data for a therapeutic regimen involving Lumakras and PD-1 inhibitors pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or atezolizumab in patients with KRAS G12C-mutated NSCLC.

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