Chardan Reiterates Sell On Esperion Therapeutics, Sees At Least 6 Reasons To Beware

In a report published Wednesday, Chardan Capital Markets analyst Gbola Amusa maintained a Sell rating on Esperion Therapeutics Inc ESPR, while raising the price target from $50 to $55, saying that the FDA had removed the 240 mg partial clinical hold on the company’s Phase IIb cholesterol-lowering drug, ETC-1002, “allowing ETC-1002 to be used at doses above 240 mg in clinical studies.”

In the report Chardan Capital Markets noted the concerns surrounding Esperion Therapeutics:

1. “ETC-1002 works upstream of statins, and its efficacy can likely be replicated by uptitrating lower-dose to higher-dose statins…
2. ETC-1002 is an old (and slow-to-develop) asset, and pharma companies have chosen not to develop similar-mechanism compounds…
3. Believing in ETC-1002 safety is a leap of faith at this point…
4. We cannot find a logical place to use ETC-1002, even if it is approved, given ETC-1002's modest LDL-lowering efficacy and given its add-on data include use only with low-dose statins…
5. Post the recent FDA panels, FDA commentary suggests the statin intolerance market is 8% of where many thought…
6. The recent anti-PCK9 FDA panels (and Dr. Califf's online comments) to us clearly show an expert bias and an FDA bias towards drugs proving utility beyond simple LDL-lowering…”

Analyst Gbola Amusa continues to believe that any impediments in study ETC-1002-014, scheduled for July, or the FDA end-of-phase-II process, scheduled for 2H15, could result in “significant share price downside.”