H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Celyad (NASDAQ:CYAD) with a “buy” rating and $45 price target, citing the outlook of the company’s pipeline that includes lead candidate, CYAD-01. The stock closed at $30.99 on June 29.
Analyst Edward White writes that CYAD-01 is a next generation chimeric antigen receptor therapy (CAR-T) being developed for both solid and liquid tumors.
He said CYAD-01 harnesses the power of the patient’s own immune system by using natural killer cell specificity to target T-cells against a broad range of tumors.
“We believe that by targeting eight different ligands, CYAD-01 is differentiated from currently approved CAR-T therapies and those in development,” Mr. White said. “As persistence of the cells is low, it may be dosed repeatedly and appears to have favorable tolerability.”
Mr. White said CYAD-01 recorded the world’s first complete response in a relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia patient with CAR-T therapy without the use of preconditioning agents.
CYAD-01 is in a Phase 1 dose escalation study and safety data in the first 20 patients appears to be compelling, he added.
