RBC says two new deaths listed in FAERS data for Sarepta’s Elevidys

RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams notes that today’s update of FAERS data for Elevidys included a total of four patient deaths. However, the firm’s understanding after having had the opportunity to connect with senior management at Sarepta (SRPT) is that only two of these cases reflect previously reported deaths, so there appear to be two new deaths listed in the FAERS database which had not been reported before. Based on the firm’s analysis of the data and discussion with the company, RBC believes one was a 25-year-old patient who died of a pneumothorax about three months following Elevidys treatment and the other was a 19-year-old patient with a low ejection fraction who had experienced a viral infection. The two additional patient deaths occurred in non-ambulatory patients, but neither of the two patients experienced acute liver failure and it is possible the deaths may have been disease related and treatment with Elevidys itself may not have necessarily led to these deaths. However, two newly disclosed patient deaths in non-ambulatory patients treated with Elevidys, while not clear if directly related to the gene therapy, may “further reinforce skepticism” around using the gene therapy in non-ambulatory patients, argues the firm, which keeps a Sector Perform rating on the stock with a $14 price target