Alnylam Is Now The Leader In The Clinical HBV RNAi Therapy Space

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ARWR) has announced the discontinuation of all its clinical RNAi programs, citing safety issues. This development could boost Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY)'s market share in both HBV (hepatitis B virus) RNAi and (alpha-1 antitrypsin), Chardan Capital Markets’ Madhu Kumar said in a report.

Kumar expects Alnylam’s market share in HBV to grow from 12.5 percent to 47.5 percent and in AAT from 30 percent to 100 percent. He maintains a Buy rating on the company, while raising the price target from $73 to $89.

Alnylam Will Not Face The Same Risks

Arrowhead’s discontinuation was owing to deaths in "a nonclinical toxicology study in non-human primates using EX[-]1, the company's liver-targeted, intravenously administered delivery vehicle," Kumar wrote. He explained that while EX-1 used the DPC platform, which involved “a second, non-therapeutic agent to promote delivery of the RNAi drug,” Alnylam’s ALN-HBV RNAi assets did not use the DPC technology and, therefore, “should not face similar safety risks.”

Leader In HBV RNAi

In reviewing Arrowhead’s discontinuation and the Phase IIa of Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ: ABUS)'s ARB-1467 compound demonstrating “at best mediocre” results, Alnylam is now the leader in the clinical HBV RNAi therapy space, the analyst commented.

In a separate note, Kumar downgraded Arrowhead to Neutral, while reducing the price target to $2.

At Last Check

• Alnylam was up 1.72 percent in the pre-market session Wednesday, trading at $46.82.
• Arbutus was up 5.66 percent in Wednesday's pre-market, trading at $2.80.
• Arrowhead was down 60.49 percent at $1.73.

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