AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) (AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN)) was labelled a ‘buy’ by Deutsche Bank following this morning’s announcement of a date for the US review of Enhertu, a new treatment for a rare type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a Priority Review, which cuts the approval process to about six months from ten and is given to applications for medicines that, if approved, would offer significant improvements over available options
Breakthrough designation for Enhertu was granted in May 2020, raising investors’ eyebrows as to why it took so long to gain a date for an approval decision, but having a date (19 October 2022) is good news said the broker.
AstraZeneca cancer drug receives priority FDA review as data points to its potential in lung cancer
“Whilst commercially niche (HER2m is [roughly] 3% of NSCLC), the former we view as a clear minor positive, validating our long-standing view that the DL01 data was approvable… and we have seen several cuts of DL01 data going back to 2020,” said Deutsche Bank.
It gave the drug-maker a price target of 11,500p, approximately 10% higher than Tuesday’s closing price.
AstraZeneca’s share price was flat at 10,490p.