Leerink Partners launched coverage of Adamas Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ADMS) with an “outperform” rating and $20 price target. The stock closed at $10.84 on Nov. 15.
Adamas applies its drug delivery technology to improve on existing molecules for neurologic disorders, which reduces product development costs and timelines as well as overall molecule risk, writes analyst Marc Goodman.
Its lead product, Gocovri, was launched in the fourth quarter of 2017 as a treatment for dyskinesias in Parkinson’s disease patients and is in a Phase 3 program for a second indication, multiple sclerosis-related movement disorders.
Mr. Goodman said a follow-up asset, ADS-4101, is a “relatively low-risk project, given the proof of concept with both the technology and underlying molecule, which is a new and improved Vimpat, with better tolerability.”
In addition, he said Adamas’ platform technology should enable the company to replicate its strategy and develop additional assets to sustain growth.
According to Mr. Goodman, important catalysts to watch include initiation of enrollment for ADS-4101 in partial onset seizures in 2019, an additional indication for Gocovri in the first quarter of 2019 and completion of enrollment for the first Phase 3 study in multiple sclerosis-related movement disorders in the second half of 2019.
