Protagonist Therapeutics, the Healthcare sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst yesterday. Analyst Tara Bancroft from TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a $65.00 price target.
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Tara Bancroft’s rating is based on several promising developments within Protagonist Therapeutics. The company’s rusfertide, an engineered hepcidin mimetic, has shown significant efficacy in treating polycythemia vera (PV), achieving a 77% clinical response rate in its Phase III VERIFY study. This result is considered practice-changing and is expected to become a standard treatment for PV, with an NDA filing anticipated in the fourth quarter. The potential market opportunity for rusfertide is substantial, with estimates suggesting a $1-2 billion peak opportunity.
Tara Bancroft also highlights the strong performance of icotrokinra in psoriasis treatment. In various Phase III studies, icotrokinra has demonstrated superior efficacy compared to existing treatments, such as Sotyktu. The ICONIC-ADVANCE-1/2 study showed that icotrokinra met all primary and secondary endpoints, with significant improvements in PASI and IGA scores over placebo. With an NDA for icotrokinra already filed, these advancements position Protagonist Therapeutics for commercial success, supporting the Buy rating.