On Tuesday, BTIG maintained its Buy rating and $6.00 price target for ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK), emphasizing the potential of the company's lead candidate, rilparencel (REACT), in treating severe diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD). The endorsement follows a recent key opinion leader (KOL) call with prominent nephrologists, which highlighted rilparencel's unique mechanism and its ability to preserve kidney function in patients inadequately managed by existing therapies.
The KOL call featured discussions with Dr. Steven Coca from Mount Sinai and Dr. Arnold Silva from Boise Kidney. They examined rilparencel's capacity to improve upon the current standard of care for patients with late-stage diabetic CKD. Current treatments include SGLT2 inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, and MRAs, which may not be sufficient for all patients. BTIG's analysis suggests that rilparencel has a distinct mechanism of action that could offer a significant benefit for this patient population.
Investors are now looking ahead to the interim results from the Phase 2 REGEN-007 study, anticipated in mid-2024. BTIG expects that positive outcomes from this trial will support the success of the subsequent Phase 3 PROACT 1 & 2 studies. The conditions of the REGEN-007 study, which involve bilateral injections and a cryopreserved product, closely reflect the pivotal study's protocol, providing a basis for the firm's confidence in the upcoming data.
The continuation of the Buy rating and the affirmation of the $6 price target reflect BTIG's optimistic outlook for ProKidney's rilparencel. The firm's assessment underscores the treatment's potential impact on kidney function preservation in a patient group that currently faces limited options.
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