Leerink Partners analyst Thomas Smith has maintained their bullish stance on ABVX stock, giving a Buy rating yesterday.
Thomas Smith has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors surrounding the development of Abivax SA’s obefazimod (obe) for treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The recent Investor Day highlighted the significant unmet medical needs in ulcerative colitis, where current therapies often fail to provide adequate responses. Dr. David Rubin, a key opinion leader in inflammatory bowel diseases, emphasized obe’s unique mechanism that potentially avoids issues like loss of response due to anti-drug antibodies, offering an immune regulatory effect rather than a suppressive one.
Dr. Rubin expressed optimism about the Phase 2 induction data, which showed promising rates of clinical remission in a challenging patient group, with effects lasting up to 96 weeks. He also conveyed confidence in the success of the Phase 3 ABTECT program, suggesting that a placebo-adjusted treatment effect of 10-12% would be clinically meaningful. Additionally, the steps taken by ABVX to reduce placebo responses are expected to be effective, and obe’s profile as a safe and effective oral therapy could lead to significant market adoption, potentially ahead of biologics and as a combination therapy. These insights collectively support the Buy rating for Abivax SA’s stock.
In another report released yesterday, LifeSci Capital also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $45.00 price target.