H.C. Wainwright Sees Nearly 200% Upside In Vascular Biogenics

H.C. Wainwright’s Swayampakula Ramakanth believes if the VTS gene therapy platform is successfully developed by Vascular Biogenics Ltd (NASDAQ: VBLT), it could revolutionize the multi-billion dollar angiogenesis inhibitor market.

Ramakanth initiated coverage of the company with a Buy rating and price target of $11.

Novel Therapy

The analyst mentioned that the company is developing a novel anti-angiogenesis therapy for solid tumors, and that compared to the currently available anti-angiogenesis drugs, Vascular Biogenics’ gene therapy offers several advantages, such as lower toxicity, tissue-specific activity and simpler dosing regimen.

“Currently, we expect VBL’s lead gene therapy product, VB-111, to reach the market in 2019 and achieve risk-adjusted annual sales of $386M by 2026,” Ramakanth stated.

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VB-111 has already demonstrated significant efficacy in the Phase 2 study in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM), which is a highly aggressive yet difficult to treat brain tumor.

Vascular Biogenics initiated a pivotal Phase 3 trial for VB-111 in rGBM in 2H15 and the analyst believes that this could be the first drug to receive approval for rGBM since 2009.

“In addition to the GBM program, the company is also investigating the use of VB-111 for the treatment of ovarian and thyroid cancers in mid-stage studies,” according to the H.C. Wainwright report.

Multiple Catalysts

Ramakanth pointed out there were several upcoming catalysts for the company, including the expected top-line results from the GLOBE study in 1Q18.

The other catalysts that could drive share price appreciation include “1) full results from the Phase 2 study in thyroid cancer (4Q16); 2) initiation of the Phase 2b study in ovarian cancer (late-2016); and 3) interim analysis of the GLOBE study (1H17).”

In addition, Vascular Biogenics has several follow-on products in its pipeline.

At time of writing, Vascular Biogenics was up 8.23 percent on the day, trading at $4.28.