HC Wainwright Bullish On Proteon Therapeutics, Sees 105% Potential Upside

Proteon is developing a novel therapy to help prolong vascular access patency for dialysis patients. The company's lead product, vonapanitase, is a recombinant human elastase used during vascular surgery.

Proteon is conducting two Phase 3 studies, PATENCY-1 and PATENCY-2, investigating the use of vonapanitase to improve patency rates of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), the most preferred type of vascular access.

According to the National Institute of Health, over 500,000 patients treated in the United States receive long-term dialysis for the treatment of chronic kidney disease, and unobstructed vascular access is key for these patients.

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"If successful, we believe vonapanitase could become a revolutionary treatment for dialysis patients and become a new standard of care in this multi-billion dollar market. We expect vonapanitase to reach the market in 2019 and achieve risk-adjusted revenues of $543 million by 2029," analyst Swayampakula Ramakanth wrote in a note.

The key upcoming catalyst for Proteon is the announcement of final results from the Phase 3 PATENCY 1 study, which the analyst expects in the fourth quarter 2016. PATENCY-1 is a 300-patient study designed to compare treatment using 30 mcg of vonapanitase during AVF surgery with placebo.

"If vonapanitase is able to demonstrate a similar level of clinical benefit as in the Phase 2, we expect there is a high likelihood that it could achieve the primary endpoint of an improvement in 12-month primary unassisted patency," Ramakanth highlighted.

Shares of Proteon were up 11.20 percent at $9.73 at time of writing Thursday.

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