H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Corium International (NASDAQ:CORI) with a “buy” rating and $15 price target. The stock closed at $10.88 on Sept. 25.
Corium is a pure-play transdermal (TD) patch dug delivery company with a proven track record executing challenging TD products.
Analyst Oren Livnat writes that Corium has long been a partner of choice for manufacturing and co-development but is now moving up the value chain by self-funding the development of pipeline assets before partnering them out.
“We believe Corium is taking the right approach, pursuing reformulations that can use a bioequivalence regulatory path, and go from preclinical to NDA filing quickly at relatively low cost,” he added.
Corium’s lead asset is a weekly donepezil patch formulation of former blockbuster daily oral Aricept for Alzheimer’s disease. “It is already relatively de-risked, in our view, and should have a commercial partner and NDA filing within a year, and bring in peak $200-million revenue,” Mr. Livnat said.
Corium’s stock is up dramatically year-to-date on positive pipeline progress but, “in our view, is not yet fully valued on the late-stage pipeline, with even further upside from earlier-stage progress or new partner opportunities,” he said
