Does Clearside Biomedical Have 91% Upside?

Shares of Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ: CLSD) has 91 percent upside, according to a note from Stifel, which initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and $13 price target.

"Clearside has developed a novel ocular injection platform to deliver drug[s] optimally throughout the eye by way of the suprachroidalspace (SCS) [...] Clearside is also developing compounds in the larger indications of Wet AMD and glaucoma through partnership," according to analyst Annabel Samimy.

"With proof-of-concept in hand on its first compounds, Clearside may have tapped into the ideal "real estate" to treat ocular diseases," Samimy elaborated.

"With exclusive claims to this drug delivery, the company has developed a balanced, late-stage pipeline formacular edema associated with both Uveitis and Retinal Vein Occlusion, which should begin to deliver catalysts in 2H17," Samimy noted.

Furthermore, the analyst highlighted that "delivery to SCS has the potential to offer more optimal therapy through high bioavailability, even and efficient distribution throughout the eye, and rapid onset, with a better side effect profile."

Catalysts Moving Forward

Clearside has five issued patents and 50 patent applications providing protections in the United States and other international markets between 2027 and 2034.

Highlighting the market opportunity for Clearside, Samimy noted that Uveitis affects 350,000 patients, of which 80 percent are non-infectious. Of the total uveitis patients, 33 percent are affected with macular edema.

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"We project 25 percent peak penetration, reaching ~$160 million by 2025," Samimy explained.

The analyst continued, "The RVO (retinal vein occlusion) population is much larger at 2.2 million patients in the US. Standard-of-care for macular edema associated with RVO is monthly intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, which are both expensive and inconvenient."

"CLS-1003/Zuprata has the opportunity to improve the treatment regimen, while enhancing clinical response over standard treatment. As such, we expect peak 15 percent penetration, equating to ~$330 million by 2025," Samimy added.

Clearside has formed collaborations with Japan's Santen for four potential candidates including glaucoma and new compounds to treat Wet AMD, RVO, and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). They could result in potential milestone payments for the company.

At the time of writing, shares of Clearside were up 2.79 percent to $6.99.