2023-03-16 07:58:14 ET
- Mersana Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: MRSN ) added ~8% pre-market Thursday after JPMorgan upgraded the clinical-stage biotech ahead of a pivotal readout for its lead asset UpRi in ovarian cancer.
- The company is advancing the antibody-drug conjugate in a registrational trial called UPLIFT for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) with topline data expected in mid-2023.
- After conducting due diligence on the upcoming readout, JPMorgan analyst Brian Cheng wrote that despite concerns about its safety mainly linked to lung toxicities, the UPLIFT's design has cut most high-grade pneumonitis risks.
- "At the current valuation, we believe the set-up going into the binary catalyst skews favorably toward upside," despite weakness in company shares in reaction to a clinical hold Mersana ( MRSN ) announced for a different cancer candidate on Monday.
- "….we believe MRSN's UpRi holds the ingredients to becoming a key treatment option in PROC," Cheng wrote, upgrading MRSN to Overweight from Neutral and issuing a $10 per share target on the stock.
- In January, Seeking Alpha contributor Avisol Capital Partners argued that the company's "trial data so far hasn't exactly lived up to the promise."
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Mersana upgraded at JPMorgan ahead of ovarian cancer readout for lead asset