H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Nanobiotix SA (PSE:NANO) with a “buy” rating and price target of €25. The stock closed at €16.60 on Sept. 21.
Nanobiotix is developing NBTXR3, a radio-enhancer, which can improve efficacy of radiotherapy (RT). Although RT is currently used in more than 60% of all cancer patients, it is also associated with numerous side effects and often a sub-optimal dose is administered in order to make it more tolerable, which compromises its efficacy.
Analyst Swayampakula Ramakanth writes that NBTXR3, which is comprised of hafnium oxide nanoparticles, is injected intratumorally and can locally amplify the radiation energy during RT, leading to improved killing of cancer cells without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.
Since hafnium is a biologically inert substance, NBTXR3 exhibits an excellent safety profile and can be safely used in combination with traditional RT across multiple tumor types, he added. “We believe that NBTXR3 has the potential to become the new standard of care in RT.”
In June, Nanobiotix released positive top-line results from a Phase 2/3 study of NBTXR3 in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). The company has submitted the latest STS results to support an application for CE Mark, which “we expect to be approved in the first half of 2019 and should enable the company to commercialize NBTXR3 in the EU,” he added.
Mr. Ramakanth said NBTXR3 also is being developed against 10 additional cancer indications, including head and neck, lung, prostate and liver cancer.
In the U.S., Nanobiotix is collaborating with MD Anderson Cancer Center to explore the combination of NBTXR3 with immunotherapy. In September, they initiated a Phase 1/2 study using NBTXR3 in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic head and neck, and lung cancers.
