BTIG initiated coverage of Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SEEL) with a “buy” rating and $14 price target. The stock closed at $3.04 on March 11.
Seelos’ lead clinical candidate, SLS-002, is an intranasally delivered racemic ketamine, which is moving into potentially pivotal development for the treatment of patients with acute suicidal ideation and behavior with major depressive disorder.
“SLS-002 has the potential to address an important unmet need in a broad patient population,” writes analyst Robert Hazlett.
Mr. Hazlett said there is material potential for a rapid-acting, convenient intranasal version of ketamine focused on emergency room use, where the effect of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy could be minimal, compared with other settings.
“We believe Seelos could benefit materially from the successful development of SLS-002 for that use, and for an indication to treat depression,” he added.
Mr. Hazlett said another advanced program is SLS-005, an intravenous form of Trehalose, a protein stabilizer that has shown promising activity in reducing pathologic aggregation of misfolded proteins. SLS-005 is in the clinic for both ALS and Sanfilippo Syndrome, both of which are moving toward late-stage development, he said.
