Ascentage Pharma's Lisaftoclax Shows 31.8% Efficacy in Myeloid Malignancies

Oppenheimer analyst Matthew Biegler initiated coverage of Ascentage Pharma with an Outperform rating and $45 price target. The firm believes Ascentage has the potential to become the next BeOne. To get there, they're taking a page from BeOne's playbook. Better drugs, focusing on chronic blood cancers with large TAMs, Oppenheimer argues, adding that olverembatinib looks like a best-in-class BCR-ABL inhibitor. Separately, Ascentage's BCL-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax is taking aim at BeOne's biggest market: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The firm believes lisaftoclax' tolerability could enable it to make inroads into an indication where other BCL-2 inhibitors have failed, namely Myelodysplastic syndrome.

Truist analyst Gregory Renza initiated coverage of Ascentage Pharma with a Buy rating and $51 price target. The company's Lisaftoclax is differentiated by improved tolerability and accelerated 5-day dose ramp-up, which is clinically meaningful, according to key opinion leaders, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Growth in China depends on the NRDL inclusion by the end of 2027, and the firm views GLORA's readout 2025-end or 2026E as key to supporting U.S. expansion in second-line CLL/SLL, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, the firm added.

BTIG initiated coverage of Ascentage Pharma with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The firm says Ascentage has a "validated" apoptosis-targeted platform and two late-stage assets, Olverembatinib and Lisaftoclax, to drive sustained commercial growth and valuation upside. BTIG views Ascentage as one of the "most compelling" China-based biopharma stocks. The company is positioned to for "sustainable global relevance" as it transitions from clinical-stage to commercial-scale, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Piper Sandler analyst Biren Amin initiated coverage of Ascentage Pharma with an Overweight rating and $48 price target. The company's two approved assets in China are now under evaluation in the U.S., the analyst tells investors in a research note. Piper projects $1.9B and $1B in peak risk-adjusted global revenues for olverembatinib and lisaftoclax, respectively.