UPDATE: Rodman & Renshaw Reiterates Market Outperform Rating, Raises PT on Vivus

In a report published Wednesday, Rodman & Renshaw reiterated its Market Outperform rating on Vivus VVUS, and raised its price target to $52.00, related to the recent approval of the diet drug Qsymia. Rodman & Renshaw noted, “We view the Qsymia label as a positive and in-line with our expectations. Recall, Qsymia is a combination of phentermine (PHEN) and topiramate (TOP). FDA approved four dose combinations of PHEN and TOP. FDA defined the mid-dose of Qsymia as the recommended daily dose. Further, FDA outlined a treatment strategy for the drug's use, recommending that, based on the amount of weight loss, prescribers evaluate whether to discontinue or increase the dose of Qsymia after 12 weeks. After a subsequent 12 weeks of therapy, FDA recommended that patients who have failed to achieve 5% weight loss discontinue use of the Qsymia. In our view, this will justify 24 weeks of therapy prior to discontinuation due to lack of efficacy in most cases. We note that the label for the recently approved Belviq (lorcaserin) had a higher bar for continuing therapy, recommending discontinuation in non-responders after 12 weeks.” Vivus closed on Tuesday at $26.46.