Leede Jones Gable initiated coverage of ProMIS Neurosciences (TSX:PMN) with a “speculative buy” rating and price target of 50 cents (Canadian). The stock closed at 11 cents on May 10.
The firm’s lead preclinical asset is, PMN310, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) drug that selectively targets epitopes within misfolded toxic amyloid-beta oligomers. These are an intermediate form of brain-derived amyloid protein that available biochemical evidence is showing to be tightly associated with pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease.
“ProMIS’ core competency lies in its expertise in generating mAbs that target conformational epitopes that are expressed either predominantly or exclusively on misfolded or aggregated proteins that in being misfolded/aggregated contribute to disease,” writes analyst Doug Loe, Ph.D., adding that this expertise has been applied to a suite of mAb therapies and not just PMN310.
Dr. Loe said Alzheimer’s disease is a hugely competitive medical market, but with few clinical-stage assets targeting toxic amyloid oligomers, as PMN310 is.
“We believe that PMN310 rises above its peers in not only targeting this intermediate aggregation form of beta-amyloid, but also from being specifically designed to do so and thus to manifest fewer off-target side effects,” he said.
“This is in contrast to other therapies, including other beta-amyloid-targeted mAbs that simultaneously bind to beta-amyloid monomers or fibrils that we believe are less relevant to Alzheimer’s disease progression,” he added.
