ORIC - ORIC Pharma gains as H.C. Wainwright upgrades on solid tumor candidate

2023-03-23 08:36:09 ET

ORIC Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ: ORIC ) added ~5% pre-market Thursday after H.C. Wainwright upgraded the cancer-focused biotech to Buy from Neutral, adding its solid tumor candidate ORIC-114 to the firm's valuation model.

The upgrade comes as ORIC prepares to release initial data for ORIC-114 in H2 2023 from its Phase 1b trial for patients with advanced solid tumors harboring EGFR and HER2 exon 20 alterations or HER2 amplifications.

H.C. Wainwright argues that ORIC-114 rivals Cullinan Oncology's ( CGEM ) zipalertinib (CLN-081) in the small molecule/ exon 20 inhibitor space while being a CNS-penetrant Blueprint Medicine's ( BPMC ) BLU-451 is its major competitor.

However, noting that zipalertinib "isn't particularly CNS-penetrant," and up to 40% of non-small cell lung cancer patients develop brain metastases, the firm argues CNS penetration is "a major differentiating factor" in ORIC-114 compared to zipalertinib.

While BLU-451 is also a CNS-penetrant, "ORIC-114 appears to have more potent GI50's against a variety of EGFR exon 20 mutations," the analyst added, with a $16 per share target on the stock.

Read: Seeking Alpha contributor Avisol Capital Partners issued a Hold rating on ORIC, citing the potential for upside if Pfizer ( PFE )-partnered multiple myeloma candidate, ORIC-533, generates positive Phase 1 data this year.

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