Guggenheim starts Assembly Biosciences with a Buy ahead of clinical readouts

As previously reported, Guggenheim initiated coverage of Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) with a Buy rating and $31 price target. There remains a significant unmet medical need in the genital herpes treatment market, which has supported multiple blockbuster branded medications in the past, says the analyst, who believes Assembly’s ABI-5366 and ABI-1179 have the potential to offer increased efficacy along with once-weekly or perhaps even once-monthly dosing. The firm also thinks the partnership with Gilead (GILD), “a leader in the antiviral space,” positions Assembly well to potentially capture either a significant profit share or royalty and milestones without significant spending, assuming Gilead elects to opt in. The firm sees “a very attractive risk/reward” ahead of proof-of-concept clinical data from four separate readouts later this year, the analyst added.