Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Loxo Oncology rises as much as 33% pre-market on 6.6k volume after data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting showed that 76% of patients with tumors harboring tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusions responded to treatment with larotrectinib. Citi analyst Yigal Nochomovitz reinstated a buy rating from neutral and raised PT to $86 from $45.

• ASCO data have outperformed Citi’s expectations; larotrectinib has "unequivocally delivered on the promise of precision medicine in oncology" and on LOXO’s founding thesis
• Says duration is very impressive with median progression-free survival not reached; increases assumed duration to 20 months from 16
• Sees FDA approval for larotrectinib as close to a "slam dunk" as it gets in biotech
• LOXO has 6 buys, no holds, no sells, avg PT $68
• NOTE: Watch Ignyta; shares may move on larotrectinib data as RXDX’s entrectinib, another TRK inhibitor, is in clinical testing; RXDX planning to file NDA in 1H18
• NOTE: May 12, Loxo Oncology Confirms Larotrectinib Orphan Status

To contact the reporter on this story: Tatiana Darie in New York at tdarie1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net Steven Fromm