CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON), a biotech focused on non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), traded ~9% higher on Wednesday after Guggenheim launched its coverage with a Buy recommendation and a $90 target, citing its prospects in the NMIBC market.
Analyst Brad Canino argued that CGON’s lead asset, cretostimogene, for which multiple mid- and early-stage clinical trials for NMIBC are underway, has demonstrated best-in-class efficacy, durability, and safety.
According to him, NMIBC patients will be keen to use durable and highly safe treatments such as cretostimogene, as they want to avoid invasive medical procedures and bladder removal as solutions for this non-lethal form of cancer.
The analyst added that cretostimogene, which is expected to undergo FDA review next year, is backed by adequate data that can support a potential U.S. approval for BCG-unresponsive high-risk NMIBC and get included in NCCN guidelines.
With Guggenheim forecasting nearly $10B in peak global sales for the NMIBC drug market, Canino said that despite J&J’s (JNJ) “equally compelling” bladder cancer drug Inlexzo, which comes with nearly a one-year launch advantage over CGON’s, “there is room for both.”