Kite Pharma's Initial ZUMA Data 'Solid'; Barclays Raises Target To $65

Analysts Jonathan Eckard and Geoff Meacham pointed out that the overall response rate of 76 percent and complete response rate of 47 percent were better than the consensus estimates. As a result, concerns on the regulatory approval should recede and the possibility of the drug candidate's success rate increased from 60 percent to 75 percent.

Related Link: Kite Pharma Spiking After Release Of Positive Clinical Data

The brokerage believes that the efficiency level of the analysis is enough for the company to get FDA approval and the usage of it among physicians. The firm pointed out that its recent checks indicated greater than roughly 30 percent durable complete remissions in patients are enough to use the drug.

"While we need to wait for clarity on durability, (doctors would like to see a med of ~9+ months), based on the Ph1 ZUMA patients, CRs at 3 months appear to be durable out to 9 months, which is encouraging. It will also be important to see CR rates in both chemo-refractory vs. relapse after stem cell transplant (SCT) (the prior being the higher hurdle), however in our view any differences, unless profound, would be unlikely to prevent approval in both patient settings," according to the analysts.

The brokerage expects volatility in share price ahead of a detailed presentation of some examination of the gains based on patients' prior treatments and the responses. Barclays expects the presentation in December.

At time of writing, Kite was up 9.02 percent on the day at $59.94.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.