Safety Remains A Top Concern For Kite Pharma After Positive Phase 1 ZUMA-1 Data

Canaccord Genuity said safety remains a critical concern for the potential success of KTE-C19 following Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: KITE) presenting updated data through 12 months from its Phase 1 ZUMA-1 trial in chemorefractory, aggressive non-hodgkin's lymphoma. The firm noted that the trail showed durable efficacy.

Analyst John Newman noted that the data, though encouraging, comes from a very small group. Therefore, the analyst said he will look forward to affirmation of these results in more robust study presentations to come at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting this December.

Related Link: Following Kite Pharma's Positive Top-Line Data, Focus Turns To Commercial Outlook

Canaccord noted that the Phase 1 data update comes on the heels of positive interim results from the company's Phase 2 portion of ZUMA-1. On this, the firm expects further data at ASH 2016.

The firm would seek details such as the percentage of patients in the study who has prior successful stem cell transplants, given that the data is a key efficacy indicator that would also influence the potential commercialization strategy for KTE-C19. The firm also hopes to see data on patient retreatment with KTE-C10 in addition to granularity on PR to CR conversion at later time points.

Canaccord maintains its Buy rating and $75 price target on the shares of the company, as it expects BLA filing by the end of 2016.

At last check, Kite Pharma was up 2.81 percent at $57.28.

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