H.C. Wainwright Starts Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPTI) at Buy

H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Karyopharm Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KPTI) with a Buy rating and a price target of $15. Analyst Shaunak Deepak said he likes the company's "shotgun-like approach" to developing its lead XPO1 inhibitor selinexor.

"We find the abundance of near-term selinexor catalysts especially enticing, and believe these events are largely independent of each other. We believe one of the key strengths of selinexor is its potential to be used in many different cancers and in combination regimens with a variety of marketed therapies. In addition to single-agent activity for advanced cancers with limited therapeutic options, selinexor has shown evidence of making patients responsive to drug regimens they had previously failed. We think this potential to re-sensitize heavilytreated patients makes selinexor well suited for use in late-stage settings and may lead to non-competitive uptake," said Deepak.

The analyst continued, "We see a positive readout from a selinexor trial in a blood cancer as the most likely path to market. We like that Karyopharm designed several of their clinical trials with pre-specified subgroup analyses built in, as this means that even if selinexor does not work in all comers, clinically meaningful results could still be seen among a smaller group of patients. We believe that if selinexor demonstrates robust efficacy in the penta-refractory multiple myeloma (MM) population of the STORM trial in 3Q16 or among non-GCB diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients in the SADAL trial in 1Q17, Karyopharm could develop a regulatory strategy for accelerated approval."

Deepak added, "In our view, Karyopharm has been wise to enlist cancer institutions in the development of selinexor through a range of ISTs, of which 31 were planned or ongoing at last count. We believe these trials not only serve to leverage Karyopharm’s development efforts, providing low-cost access to high-quality clinical data from investigators who specialize in specific cancers, but also to increase physician engagement and comfort with the development of the compound. We believe this approach may pay dividends upon the launch of the selinexor."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Karyopharm Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Karyopharm Therapeutics click here.

Shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics closed at $6.99 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• TD Cowen Resumes EQT Corp. (EQT) at Hold
• B.Riley Resumes EverQuote (EVER) at Buy
• Loop Capital Starts Instacart (CART) at Buy, 'Leading a Massive and Underpenetrated Category'