2023-03-07 13:35:14 ET
Credit Suisse raised its recommendation on anti-cholesterol treatment developer Esperion Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: ESPR ) despite its Monday's selloff following a Phase 3 readout for its heart disease therapy Nexletol.
Esperion ( ESPR ) shares lost ~20% on Monday after the company said that Nexletol, also called bempedoic acid, lowered the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, MACE-4 and MACE-3, by 13% and 15%, respectively, in its CLEAR cardiovascular outcomes trial.
Nexletol and related therapy Nexlizet (bempedoic acid plus ezetimibe) are indicated in the U.S. as an adjunct to diet and statins for certain adults with familial hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require a further decline in cholesterol LDL-C.
Bempedoic acid “now becomes the first LDL-C lowering therapy since statins proven to lower hard ischemic events,” the company said.
Credit Suisse analyst Judah Frommer who upgrades ESPR to Neutral from Underperform, argues that the release of CLEAR data limits the downside risk for company shares.
“CLEAR data represented, we believe, the last hard catalyst for ESPR until we are informed of the anticipated bempedoic acid (BA) label change and related Daiichi milestone in 1H 2024,” Frommer added, raising the price target on ESPR to $7.00 from $6.50 per share.
In 2021, Esperion ( ESPR ) partnered with Otsuka Pharmaceutica and Daiichi Sankyo to commercialize Nexletol and Nexlizet.
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Esperion upgraded at Credit Suisse despite selloff after Nexletol data