Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' (ALNY) zilebesiran product candidate could see a "significant commercial opportunity" from the solid launch of rival hypertension treatment Baxfendy, Oppenheimer said in a Thursday note.
AstraZeneca's (AZN) Baxfendy was approved in May and its sales jumped about 3,000% at week 12 after the approval, reaching about $1.6 million per week, the brokerage said.
Oppenheimer said zilebesiran's potential cardiovascular benefit, effective blood-pressure reduction, infrequent dosing and favorable safety profile could support strong launch prospects and differentiate it from competing therapies.
Zilebesiran's Q6M dosing could also improve treatment adherence and reduce treatment burden, particularly given that about 73% of patients in Baxfendy's phase 3 trial were taking three or more antihypertensive medications. The investment firm noted zilebesiran's lower rate of elevated potassium in Kardia-3 compared with Baxfendy.
Oppenheimer has an outperform rating and a $350 price target on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
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