HGEN Looks Attractive at Current Valuation
With top-line efficacy data for its lead drug Lenzilumab in COVID-19 in hand (See IQ Card), and now the much more real possibility of treating cytokine storm in other indications as well (e.g. CAR-T), the current market cap of $HGEN (#HGEN) of $1B (enterprise value around $900M) still looks attractive, even after it's huge increase last month as one of our March Big Mover companies. Lenzi seems to fit well into a COVID hospitalization regimen (treat soon after hospitalized), unlike some of the Covid antibody therapies, which seem best suited to be infused before hospitalization. With significant portions of the population even in U.S. and Europe likely refusing to be vaccinated, and other countries with significant economies unlikely to reach herd immunity for some time/years (e.g. large South American countries), it seems that there will be a Covid market for at least some years. And that is without a mutant breaking out of current vaccine protection.
The rest of 2021 should be filled with potential movers for this stock. We have the pandemic progress, the report out of secondary endpoints in their recent phase 3 COVID trial, FDA EUA filing/progress, and the Phase 1b/2 CAR-T report out late this year. It's Big Mover(TM) index still is pretty high, although some of that could be hangover from the huge move in March. Thus, HGEN seems to be a good target for biopharma investors, even if you are not a bull like me.
#Lenzilumab #lenzi #CART #COVID #HGEN
JBL, Just seeing this comment. since Lenzi's mechanism of action is a general mechanism against cytokine storm, I believe its approval from its COVID-19 trials bode well for future use/market potential against COVID caused by new coronavirus variants. HGEN will likely try to get a label that is not limited to "COVID-19" but for any patient with low oxygen levels associated with a respiratory illness caused by coronavirus infection. However, even if its label is limited to "COVID-19" and we have a future "COVID-21" (coronavirus variant) for example, physicians would prescribe "off label" I believe, to treat patients who entered the hospital with low blood oxygen if it was due to a respiratory illness as an aspect of COVID-21, if it was known that COVID-21 patients could progress to more serious disease because of cytokine storm. Manny (Co-founder BPIQ)