Cantor says Oric move down on tazemetostat withdrawal an ‘over-reaction’

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Prakhar Agrawal notes Oric Pharmaceuticals (ORIC) shares are down 15% after Ipsen (IPSEY) announced that it is voluntarily withdrawing tazemetostat from all Ipsen markets based on emerging safety data from the ongoing Phase 1b/ 3 SYMPHONY trial for Tazverik in combination with Revlimid and rituximab in second-line follicular lymphoma. While noting that it’s possible that the FDA is more conservative on the class depending on the event rate of these secondary malignancies in Tazverik trial, if the benefit side is very favorable for next-gen EZH2/EED inhibitors like Oric’s rinzimetostat in prostate cancer, and the safety profile is manageable, then “these drugs will still be commercially successful,” says the analyst. The firm’s view on the strong efficacy profile for rinzimetostat in prostate has not changed and today’s move “seems like an over-reaction,” adds the analyst, who keeps an Overweight rating on Oric shares.