Roth Affirms Sunesis (SNSS) at 'Neutral'; ASH Presentations May Help Clear Cloudy Outlook

Roth Capital affirms its Neutral rating and $1.30 price target on Sunesis Pharma (Nasdaq: SNSS) following Q3 results. Early Monday, Sunesis reported Q3 loss of $0.25 per share, whle the firms was looking for a loss of just $0.07 per share.

Analyst Joseph Pantginis commented on the results: With the recent Phase III VALOR study not achieving its endpoint of OS, we are mindful of developments from discussions with the FDA regarding vosaroxin's path forward. We remain cautious in our view of vosaroxin's potential for approval in the U.S. and derive all of the value from the potential ex-U.S. approval, namely in E.U. (we assign a very conservative 10% chance of success). We believe the study's failure caused a profound negative impact for the company and the AML space. SNSS's management and its scientific team are focusing their efforts on analyzing VALOR data and assessing vosaroxin's potential for various subpopulations.

However, a promising path forward for vosaroxin could come from an upcoming ASH presentation of a Phase I/II in newly diagnosed AML and high-risk MDS patients older than 60 (or younger than 60 unsuitable for standard chemotherapy). Patients were treated with vosaroxin and decitabine and to date, 35 patients are enrolled of which 34 were evaluable.

To date, 17 patients (50%) achieved CR, six patients (18%) achieved CRp and three patients (9%) achieved CRi. The median duration of all of these has not been reached and four patients were able to undergo ASCT. This patient population may respond better and this is corroborated by the VALOR trial.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. click here. For more ratings news on Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. click here.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. closed at $1.70 yesterday.

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