Cartesian initiated with an Outperform at Leerink

Leerink initiated coverage of Cartesian with an Outperform rating and $39 price target. The firm believes Cartesian’s differentiated mRNA CAR T approach and encouraging early results from Descartes-08 in MG have placed the company in a unique and competitive position in the emerging cell therapy landscape for autoimmune diseases. Leerink also believes Descartes-08’s advantageous attributes may expand the access for CAR-T cell therapy to a broader group of patients with autoimmunity, and anticipates that Cartesian’s competitive position will be strategically attractive to large pharma/biotech companies looking for entry points into this next wave of therapies.