Piper Jaffray analyst Charles Duncan reiterated an Overweight rating and $23 price target on Axovant Sciences (NYSE: AXON) with shares under pressure after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced discontinuation of its 5-HT6 antagonist (SAM-760) program in Alzheimer’s.

Duncan notes there are clear differences from RVT-101 on potency, clinical trial design, and patient enrollment criteria, as well as the availability of extensive data to inform dosing.

"First, the SAM-760 PhII program was in AD-associated psych disturbances, and may have experienced enrollment issues as well as challenges inherent to early trials on dosing and adequate PK," he commented. "We’d note that Axovant is pursuing RVT-101 in cognition and daily functioning: endpoints that we believe are better suited to this target and against which RVT-101 produced meaningful clinical improvement at the PhIIb (and now PhIII) dose."

They view clinical read-through between the two programs as minimal and do not believe the probability of RVT-101 success is compromised by this news.

In advance of enrollment updates from MINDSET to reduce execution risk, they reiterate an Overweight rating.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Axovant Sciences click here. For more ratings news on Axovant Sciences click here.

Shares of Axovant Sciences closed at $16.65 yesterday.