Biohaven outcome ‘fundamental net positive’ for Scholar Rock, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan was “not surprised” that Biohaven’s (BHVN) Phase 3 RESILIENT study for taldefgrobep alfa missed on the primary endpoint of change from baseline in the Motor Function Measurement-32 scale at 48 weeks given the firm perceived the trial setup as “high in risk” and felt that investors were “generally in this camp as well based on our conversations.” The firm felt there was minimal fundamental credit in shares ahead of the results and did not attribute any value to the program in its model, so it sees shares recovering to roughly flat in early trading as “about right,” added the analyst. Though the firm continues to view the SMA market as large enough to support multiple players, it sees this outcome as “a fundamental net positive” for Scholar Rock (SRRK) as it should remove the chance of at least a near-term myostatin competitor, says the analyst, who has Overweight ratings on both stocks.