On Monday, Piper Sandler expressed continued confidence in Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA), maintaining an Overweight rating and a $19.00 price target for the company's stock. The firm's stance comes in the wake of discussions at the recent ASCO meeting with a key opinion leader (KOL) in melanoma treatment. Despite early challenges faced by Amtagvi, Iovance's therapy candidate, the KOL anticipates utilizing the treatment and estimates that their center could administer it to 5-6 patients within the year.
The KOL, associated with a center that has been an Amtagvi Adoptive T-cell Therapy (ATC) site for approximately three months, outlined various initial obstacles, such as patient flow and screening failures. For instance, one patient undergoing screening for Amtagvi was later discovered to have brain metastases, which is a disqualification for the therapy. These issues are part of the early hurdles in deploying Amtagvi.
Despite these challenges, the KOL remains optimistic about the therapy's potential and plans to incorporate Amtagvi into treatment regimens. The estimated number of infusions, while modest, aligns with what is considered feasible, especially with expectations of increased activity in the second half of the year. This projection supports the fiscal year 2024 outlook for the therapy.
Piper Sandler's reiteration of the Overweight rating and price target underscores the firm's belief in the therapy's prospects. The KOL's feedback suggests that while Amtagvi is encountering predictable teething problems, these are not insurmountable and do not significantly dampen the long-term expectations for the treatment's uptake and success.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.