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The company tested a drug called infigratinib in children with achondroplasia, a genetic condition that slows bone growth. After six months, eight out of 10 children responded to the treatment. The group had an improvement in annual height velocity – how much they could be expected to grow in a year – of 3.03 centimetres.
Analysts had expected an improvement of 1.52 centimeters, Mizuho Securities analyst Salim Syed said in a report. In comparison, a rival treatment from BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) called Voxzogo showed an improvement of 2.01 centimeters per year in annual rate of elevation in a similar test. Ascending Pharma (ASND) is also studying a treatment for achondroplasia.
“To say the data (was) a victory might be an understatement,” he said. “We now see that annual height velocity means change from baseline and in absolute terms at a whole new level.”
In morning trading on the stock market today, BBIO shares rose 61.2% to 17.52. Shares broke out of a prolonged consolidation with a buy point at 12.74, according to MarketSmith.com. BioMarin shares fell 6.7% near 94.38. Ascendis shares fell 1.2% near 112.79.
BBIO Share: 99th Percentile Growth
Achondroplasia affects a protein called fibroblast growth factor receptor, or FGFR. In children with this disorder, the protein functions abnormally and slows bone growth. BridgeBio’s infigratinib blocks one form of that FGFR protein.
In this study, BridgeBio tested its treatment on 12 children. Two did not respond and two have not yet reached the six-month follow-up threshold. At the median, children receiving infigratinib had an annual height velocity of 7.6 centimeters per year. That is above the 99th percentile for children with this disorder.
The two patients who had not yet reached a six-month follow-up had an annual rate of height of 8.8 centimeters per year based on three months of data.
Mizuho’s Syed estimates that BBIO stock could reach a $3 billion market cap based on this particular drug. The company’s market cap hit $2.63 billion in mid-morning trading, up from $1.65 billion before the market opened. He has a buy rating and 23 price targets on BridgeBio stock.
No data security issues
It is important that the drug had no safety issues. None of the patients had high levels of phosphate in the blood – an important safety signal for this treatment. High phosphate levels can lead to kidney problems.
There was a case of high blood phosphate in a previous study. But it was a mild case that was resolved by a dose adjustment.
“This data clearly (positions) infigratinib as BridgeBio’s other strong risk-free late-stage asset, and we expect shares to trade up into the high-teens today,” SVB Leerink analyst Mani Foroohar said in a report. He has an outperform rating on BBIO shares and raised his price target to 26 from 20.
Mizuho’s Syed expects BridgeBio to run a similar clinical trial for infigratinib as BioMarin’s Voxzogo. In phase 3 testing, BioMarin enrolled 120 patients.
“Management noted that there are already around 60 participant places already requested, reflecting a high level of interest which should translate into a high enrollment rate,” he said.
The news sent BridgeBio shares to their highest point since December 2021. BBIO stock has a relative strength rating of 93, placing shares in the top 7% of all stocks when it comes to trailing 12-month performance, according to IBD Digital.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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