Pfizer study impact on CG Oncology to be minimal, says H.C. Wainwright

H.C. Wainwright analyst Andres Maldonado keeps a Buy rating on CG Oncology (CGON) with a $75 price target after Pfizer (PFE) announced positive topline results from its pivotal Phase 3 CREST trial evaluating sasanlimab, an investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin as induction therapy, with or without maintenance, in BCG-naive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. The firm believes the CREST study’s impact on cretostimogene’s overall near-term potential in bladder cancer should be minimal. Although the CREST study represents a significant milestone for the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-naive population, its near-term impact on cretostimogene’s position in the high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-unresponsive market will be limited, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says this is primarily due to ongoing BCG shortages and hesitancy among community urologists to adopt immune-oncology therapies in this setting. H.C. Wainwright believes CG’s cretostimogene’s risk/reward profile as a monotherapy will continue to demonstrate a best-in-class profile, given its strong prior performance in the BOND-003 study.