Biopharma Explains How Its Technology Evolved, Describes Current Programs

Source: Streetwise Reports   12/11/2021

F-star Therapeutics “has methodically delivered scientific/preclinical/early clinical data validating its platform bispecific technology,” noted an Oppenheimer report.

F-star Therapeutics Inc. (FSTX:NASDAQ), developer of mAb² bispecific antibodies, held an R&D Day on Dec. 6 during in which it “provided a comprehensive overview of the background story and also delved into current projects in such a way as to give us higher conviction,” reported Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh in a research note published the next day.

Oppenheimer’s target price on F-star Therapeutics is $33 per share and, thus, suggests significant potential return for investors given the biopharma is trading now at around $4.84 per share.

“In the burgeoning bispecific antibody space, we believe F-star stands out given its unique and scalable platform that produces tetravalent IgG-like bispecific antibodies tackling cancer areas with high unmet medical needs,” commented Singh.

The analyst also presented the key takeaways from the event.

Today, F-star has four proprietary product candidates in the clinic, three of which are derived from its bispecific technology. All, however, have readouts coming up in 2022. The company’s other programs are through partnerships with Denali and Merck. Also, the biopharma has an extensive license agreement with Johnson & Johnson.

Recently, F-star presented clinical data on FS-120, one of his drug candidates, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s annual 2021 conference. Results showed this stimulator of both OX40 and CD137 synergistically increased the anti-tumor activity of the anti-PD-1 antibody.

“This data builds on an impressive array of publications by F-star over the last few years detailing the preclinical and early clinical strength of the platform,” Singh noted.

F-star’s bispecific platform technology has decades of research and work behind it, Singh relayed. The concept has been around since the 1970s. However, it wasn’t until researchers at the University of Vienna began testing an idea in the mid to late 2000s that the technology began to evolve into what it is today.

“The company has methodically delivered scientific/preclinical/early clinical data validating its platform bispecific technology,” Singh wrote.

Oppenheimer’s rating on F-star Therapeutics is Outperform.

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