Viridian Therapeutics initiated at buy at Needham on lead asset for thyroid eye disease
Needham has initiated Viridian Therapeutics with a buy rating saying that VRDN-001, the company's lead candidate for thyroid eye disease (TED), has several advantages over Tepezza.
ablokhin/iStock via Getty Images Needham has initiated Viridian Therapeutics with a buy rating saying that VRDN-001, the company's lead candidate for thyroid eye disease (TED), has several advantages over Tepezza (teprotumumab) from Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP). The firm has a $45 price target (61% upside based on Friday's close). Analyst Serge Belanger noted that based on early-stage data, VRDN-001 has the potential for more convenient dosing, faster onset, and improved efficacy compared to Tepezza, which is considered the standard of care for the condition. Belanger noted that TED treatments are a multi-billion-dollar opportunity given there are ~20K patients with an active form of the disease and 75K-80K with a chronic form. A key catalyst will come in 2024 with a phase 3 data readout for VRDN-001.