3 Reasons Goldman Sachs Is Bullish On Kodiak Sciences

Kodiak Sciences Inc’s KOD main drug candidate, KSI-301, highlights the company’s focus on innovation in a dynamic treatment landscape, according to Goldman Sachs.

The Kodiak Sciences Analyst

Graig Suvannavejh initiated coverage of Kodiak Sciences with a Buy rating and a price target of $80.

The Kodiak Sciences Thesis

Based on a proprietary platform technology, Kodiak Sciences’ KSI-301 asset is focused on ophthalmology and is in a pivotal Phase 2/3 trial, with potential in multiple retinal diseases, Suvannavejh said in the note.

He cited three main reasons for the bullish rating:

1. Large Commercial Opportunity With Concentrated End-Market: The lead indication for KSI-301 is wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which represents a large commercial market, estimated at around $11.5 billion in 2019 global sales for current branded competitors.
2. May mManingfully Reduce Treatment Burden And Improve Outcomes: The current treatments typically require dosage at one- to two-month intervals, causing long wait times for patients and significantly impacting their quality of life. KSI-301 seeks to address this problem by “meaningfully improving the duration of effect for intravitreal injections.” So, KSI-301 could push the time between injections to five months or more.
3. Faster Product Approval With Accelerated Clinical Development Timelines: Kodiak Sciences has an aggressive clinical development plan for its lead asset. This plan has been agreed to by the FDA. With the accelerated timelines, KSI-301 could begin generating revenue across multiple indications as early as 2023.

KOD Price Action

Shares of Kodiak Sciences were trading flat at time of publication Tuesday.