H.C. Wainwright launched coverage of Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) with a “buy” rating and price target of $30. The stock closed at $22.86.
Analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay writes that Stoke is advancing an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) platform, TANGO, to address a low-hanging fruit in genetic medicine: developing disease modifying therapies for indications caused by haploinsufficiencies.
Haploinsufficiency occurs when one copy of a gene is inactivated or deleted and the remaining functional copy of the gene is not adequate to produce the needed gene product to preserve normal function.
“This is a segment that has been surprisingly overlooked by ASO pioneers, and hence could add to the scarcity value if its lead program establishes a robust proof of concept,” Mr. Chattopadhyay said Stoke’s lead asset, STK-001, is designed to enhance SCN1A gene expression in individuals afflicted with Dravet syndrome, with an IND submission planned for early 2020.
