Analyst: Don't Expect Anika's Latest FDA Cleared Treatment To Impact 2018

Anika Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ANIK) announced Wednesday it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its HA-based bone void filler, which is used to fill bone voids or defects of the skeletal system.

The Analyst

Barrington Research's Michael Petusky maintains an Outperform rating on Anika's stock with an unchanged $57 price target.

The Thesis

Anika's bone filler offers an invasive alternative versus the current standard of health that involves surgery, Petusky said in a note. As such, the company or a distribution partner will look to highlight this compelling feature as an advantage as it looks to position the product in the marketplace. The cost benefits of the bone repair treatment as opposed to bone grafting surgeries is significant and surgical procedures by default come with an increased risk of complication.

Anika believes the market size it can address is around $300 million, Petusky said. For the time being, the FDA's approval won't have any material revenue impact in 2018 and a 2019-2020 time frame is the earliest the new product could show any notable revenue impact. Nevertheless, the latest development represents "another positive step" in the company's goal of building out a meaningful regenerative medicine franchise.

Price Action

Shares of Anika were trading higher by around 0.2 percent late Thursday morning.

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