On Wednesday, Allogene (ALLO) revealed positive initial data from its ALLO-501 CD19 allogeneic CAR T, showing both activity and a tolerable safety profile. The news sent shares surging 28% in Wednesday’s after-hours trading.
Allogene announced preliminary data from the Phase 1 dose escalation ALPHA trial of ALLO-501 in conjunction with the release of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) abstracts.
As of the January cutoff, 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients achieved complete responses and 4 achieved partial responses, for an ORR [overall response rate] of 78% (n=7/9).
“Although early, we believe these data suggest that ALLO-501 could go toe-to-toe with autologous CAR-Ts on performance and safety—setting a new bar for allogeneic CAR-Ts in NHL and underscoring the importance of Allogene’s antibody-dependent approach to lymphodepletion” commented Oppenheimer’s Mark Breidenbach following the report.
He anticipates updated results from 11 evaluable patients in the May 29 oral presentation at ASCO—including patients treated with high-dose ALLO-647, which may further improve efficacy.
As a result of these ‘encouraging early results’, Breidenbach reiterated his buy rating on the stock while ramping up his price target from $44 to $50 (61% upside potential).
Meanwhile JP Morgan’s Cory Kasimov wrote: “In our view, this is good initial data but it hard to interpret relative to other CAR T / CD19 approaches given the limited details in the abstract (i.e. what doses, which histologies, and the amount of follow-up for patients still responding).”
Ultimately, the JP Morgan analyst looks to the upcoming ASCO presentation (which will also include patients treated at a higher ‘647 dose) to further evaluate.
ALLO currently shows a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus from the Street with 7 recent buy ratings vs 4 hold ratings. The average analyst price target stands at $34 (11% upside potential). (See ALLO stock analysis on TipRanks).
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