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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Intercept Pharma gains on H.C. Wainwright double upgrade