Barclays Downgrades Chimerix Following Lowered Expectations

• Shares of Chimerix Inc CMRX have plunged more than 40 percent in premarket trade on February 23.
• Barclays’ Geoff Meacham has downgraded the rating on the company from Overweight to Equal Weight, while lowering the price target from $12 to $6.
• Following the release of full data from the SUPPRESS study of Chimerix’s brinci, Meachem has lowered expectations of success for the ongoing phase 3 adenovirus study (AdVise).

Analyst Geoff Meacham reported, “Chimerix presented full data from the failed SUPPRESS study of brinci (CMV prevention) at the Tandem BMT meeting over the weekend likely removing any chance of a near-to-mid term path to approval in CMV or Solid Organ Transplants (SOT).”

This not only moves the timelines back significantly for the preclinical IV brincidofovir formulation in CMV, while raising concerns regarding whether oral brincidofovir continues to be viable in SOT.

Given this development, Meacham expressed lower confidence in the ongoing AdVise study leading to positive data, as well as for the approval for the candidate.

Meacham has lowered the probability of success for AdVise from the earlier 80 percent to 20 percent, with data expected in mid-2016.

“Beyond that, the catalyst calendar is relatively sparse with timing for phase 2 data in SOT or the IV brincidofovir formulation lacking any clarity for now,” the Barclays report added.