On Wednesday, Wells Fargo made a positive adjustment to the price target for Acelyrin Inc (NASDAQ:SLRN), increasing it to $13.00 from the previous target of $11.00. The firm has decided to maintain an Equal Weight rating on the company's shares. The adjustment follows the release of Phase 1/2 trial data for Acelyrin's drug candidate, lonig, which indicated potential activity and similarities to Tepezza, an already approved treatment, but administered via a lower volume subcutaneous injection.
The analyst from Wells Fargo noted that the probability of success (POS) for lonig has been raised to 50% from the earlier estimate of 30%, based on the trial data. The trial data initially appeared to be quite similar to the six-week data of Tepezza, which was seen as a positive sign. However, during a conference call, some questions emerged that slightly tempered the market's reaction to the news.
It was revealed that one placebo patient did not have follow-up data post-baseline and was considered a non-responder, effectively reducing the placebo group to a single patient. Additionally, the analyst highlighted that while the demographic baseline of the trial participants was fairly consistent with those in Tepezza's registration trials, patients treated with lonig tended to have had symptoms for a longer period before treatment (approximately 10 months versus 5-6 months). This difference in the duration of symptom onset could potentially influence the likelihood of spontaneous improvement in the active patients.
The trial data, despite raising some questions, still supports the view that lonig is an active compound. The increase in the price target reflects the analyst's updated assessment of the drug's potential following the new data.
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