Cowen Starts Uniqure At Outperform, Sees Hemophilia As 'Most Significant' Near-Term Catalyst

In a report published Wednesday, Cowen & Co analyst Ritu Baral initiated coverage of

with an Outperform rating, citing the company's "broadly applicable, safe, proprietary baculovirus production AAV5 platform, their promising hemophilia B program and earlier programs." The company develops gene therapies based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) with a unique insect-cell manufacturing platform that uses insect-specific baculoviruses for vector production. Analyst Ritu Baral pointed out that Uniqure had "rigorous manufacturing standards assuring safety" and had an exclusive license to AAV5 from NIH. Baral added that AAV5 had "the lowest prevalence of pre-existing antibodies in humans, which allows for a larger treatable patient population and potentially better efficacy." "Glybera has been approved in the EU for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) and has been launched in Germany. A US Ph3 trial is due to start around early 2016," the Cowen & Co report said, while adding, "…we think the Glybera experience has taught QURE how to navigate regulatory requirements, especially in manufacturing and quality control." Baral believes Uniqure's AAV5 hemophilia B gene therapy is "very promising." Promising data had been released by

. Baral belies that this, along with the low immunogenicity associated with AAV5 "derisks the hemophilia B program, and suggests a superior therapeutic profile to competitors."