Adlai Nortye downgraded at H.C. Wainwright after ‘unfortunate’ trial miss

H.C. Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis downgraded Adlai Nortye (ANL) to Neutral from Buy and removing its prior $9 price target on the shares after the company recently announced that the Phase 3 BURAN trial evaluating its lead asset buparlisib in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of advanced HNSCC did not meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival compared to paclitaxel alone. With these “disappointing” results and the “unfortunate” pivotal miss, the company has decided to discontinue advancement of the buparlisib program and intends to refocus resources on the advancement of two preclinical assets, AN8025 and AN9025, the analyst noted. Given the early stage nature of the remainder of the Adlai pipeline, the firm is downgrading shares as it awaits future clinical updates, the analyst explains.