Leerink remains bullish on Maze, says Vertex comparison ‘apples to oranges’

Leerink says investors seem to be comparing Maze‘s (MAZE) MZE829 waterfall plot to the one seen with Vertex’s (VRTX) inaxaplin. The firm understands “the desire to compare assets,” though given the differing patient populations, this is “an apples to oranges” comparison, and Leerink would caution against over-interpretation. Leerink is intrigued by the diabetes patient-level data Maze shared on the call suggesting that patients who are treated earlier in their disease course respond better, especially now that there is an ICD9 code supporting reimbursement for diagnosis of APOL1- mediated kidney disease, and this is the first data showing that there is evidence of a benefit in patients with diabetes. The firm reiterates an Outperform rating on Maze.