Cantor Fitzgerald launched coverage of Alpha Tau Medical (NASADQ:DRTS) with an “overweight” rating and $20 price target. The stock closed at $10.58 on April 13.
Alpha Tau, which went public in March 2022, is a medical device company focused on developing implanted alpha radiation emitting sources.
Analyst Kristen Kluska writes that the company’s pipeline is centered around the Diffusing Alpha-emitting Radiation Therapy (DaRT) technology, which Alpha Tau is evaluating in multiple oncology settings.
DaRT consists of alpha particle radiation-emitting sources implanted into tumors for local tumor-killing, potentially taking advantage of alpha radiation’s positive characteristics of short-range and high linear-energy transfer, which potentially spare healthy tissue, she added.
In a first-in-human trial of Israeli and Italian patients with cutaneous or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), Ms. Kluska said complete (CR) and partial responses (PR) were observed in 22/28 (78.6%) and 6/28 (21.4%) of evaluable lesions. There were no Grade 3 or higher acute local toxicities observed, which we believe points to a favorable risk/benefit profile in early clinical studies.
In a second U.S. trial, 10/10 patients experienced CR at about 12 weeks with no product-related serious adverse events. “Based on clinical and preclinical results, we view DaRT as a potential ‘go-to’ local radiotherapy technology,” Ms. Kluska said.
