Oppenheimer increased its price target on Immunocore Holdings Plc. (IMCR:NASDAQ) to $65 per share from $56 "given the measured, but in our opinion bullish, [operational] update from management," analyst Justin Kim reported in an August 15, 2022 research note. Currently, Immunocore's share price is around $53.62.
"We see a constructive macro environment for Immunocore, as the leading T-cell receptor platform offers a unique technology to acquisitive counterparties, and the stock's setup into PRAME has drawn broad institutional interest," Kim wrote.
Kim summarized the key points from the update, which cover several opportunities for Oppenheimer with its drug candidates.
1) Immunocore is scheduled to present, on September 9 at the European Society for Medical Oncology's annual conference, initial data from the Phase 1 trial of IMC-F106C, its bispecific PRAME-targeting candidate, in solid tumors. Oppenheimer expects the readout to be "favorable," based on conversations with the biotech's management.
"Ahead of the upcoming PRAME readout, we raise our PoS for PRAME programs to 20% from 15%, given the expectation for these data to inform next stage development," Kim noted.
2) Uptake of Immunocore's KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp), launched commercially in Europe and the U.S. in H1/22 for uveal melanoma, has been faster than expected. In the U.S., the company has captured 40% of the potential patient population. In Europe, Q2/22 sales totaled £32 million (£32M), higher than Oppenheimer and the Street's projections of £17.9M and £18.3M, respectively.
"We see inflection for sales to be driven by factors of persistence, territory expansions, and prescribing practice," wrote Kim.
3) Immunocore is advancing tebentafusp in cutaneous melanoma, with the next trial in this program, a randomized Phase 2/3, on track to commence in Q4/22. This additional indication of cutaneous melanoma "offers a compelling upside to uveal melanoma," Kim pointed out.
4) Other of Immunocore's programs, specifically IMC-I109V for the hepatitis B virus and IMC-M113V for the human immunodeficiency virus, could validate the use of T-cell receptor bispecifics in infectious diseases and, thus, broaden the company's immunotherapy platform.
Along with the September 2022 PRAME readout and Q4/22 start of the tebentafusp study in cutaneous melanoma, a third catalyst expected this year, in Q4, is a Phase 1 ovarian expansion update for therapeutic candidate IMC-C103C.
Oppenheimer rates Immunocore Outperform.
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Disclosures For Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Immunocore Holdings plc., Aug. 15, 2022
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