Kintara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:KTRA) Inc, an oncology-focused, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company has received a ‘Buy’ rating from Aegis Capital.
The Ageis analysts noted the biotech firm, which is developing VAL-083 for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and REM-001 for the treatment of cutaneous metastatic breast cancer has several catalysts ahead that could lead to company growth.
“Important upcoming events at Kintara include the expected enrollment of the first patient in the 15-patient CMBC confirmatory study, which is a lead-in study ahead of the planned pivotal trial (expected 2Q22),” the analysts said in a note
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The VAL-083 GCAR GBM AGILE registration study graduation from stage I -safety and efficacy in 100-150 patients- to stage II, a confirmatory study with 50 additional patients, which is expected in the third quarter of 2022 was another milestone that was mentioned.
More recently, the Aegis analysts pointed to Kintara’s September 23, 20231, offering of common stock, pre-funded warrants, and warrants for gross proceeds of $15 million, which will fund the company’s operations through stage I of its ongoing study with GCAR as a motivation for its coverage.
Additionally, the company’s mid-September topline data results from the newly-diagnosed adjuvant arm of its open-label, Phase II clinical study being conducted at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, were also contributing factors to the ‘Buy’ rating, they said.
The Phase II trial is a two-arm, biomarker-driven study testing VAL-083 in GBM patients, who have an unmethylated promoter of the methylguanine DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) gene.
The company previously announced topline data results from the recurrent GBM arm of the study, which provided important safety and efficacy data to support the continued evaluation of VAL-083 as a treatment option for GBM.
The news prompted the analysts to say: “Kintara's VAL-083 may represent an opportunity to improve GBM patient outcomes. Given its differentiated mechanism of action compared to temozolomide, VAL-083 may be positioned to offer benefits to patients in the MGMT-unmethylated subset, which has historically responded poorly to standard of care.”
The analysts continued: “With that said, VAL-083 has multiple opportunities to demonstrate efficacy in conjunction with GCAR's GBM AGILE trial, including in newly diagnosed MGMT-methylated and unmethylated, and in patients with recurrent disease. The presence of REM-001 in the pipeline adds a diversifying element to Kintara, in our view.”
In conjunction with the rating, the Aegis analysts updated their share price target for Kintara to $5.00 per share, from the previous $7.00 level.
“Our updated price target primarily reflects the increased share count related to the company's recent offering,” the analysts said, while also highlighting some of the headwinds the sector and company may face: “Risks include: Clinical, financial, regulatory, operational, competition, market uptake, and others.”
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