Tesaro Shares Move Higher On Latest FDA Approval; Analyst Is 'Highly Encouraged'

Shares of TESARO Inc (NASDAQ: TSRO) were trading higher by nearly 2 percent early Thursday morning after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to the company's intravenous version of its therapy to treat nausea and vomiting in adults undergoing chemotherapy.

An oral version of the therapy was approved by the FDA back in 2015.

The newly approved therapy, called Varubi will be used in combination with other agents, will cost $295 in a ready to use vial which is in line with what H.C. Wainwright & Co.'s Edward White was modeling. Of particular note, the oral market in the U.S. accounts for around 10 percent of all patients, but the opposite is true in Europe where the IV market is at 90 percent.

A successful IV launch for Tesaro will give the company access to a much greater segment in the U.S. and can over time extend its use to patients receiving chemotherapy regimens, such as cisplatin, carboplatin and other combinations, the analyst wrote. Accordingly, projected sales for 2018 is $73.2 million and will grow to $158.1 million the following year.

Overall, the analyst is "highly encouraged" by the FDA's approval. White maintains a Buy rating on Tesaro's stock with an unchanged $158 price target.

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