Bridge Bio Pharma (BBIO) surpassed Wall Street expectations in a study of children with dwarfism, causing BBIO stock to breakout in droves.
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The company tested a drug called infigratinib in children with achondroplasia, a genetic condition that slows bone growth. After six months, eight of the ten children responded to the treatment. The group had an annualized growth rate improvement — how much they expected to grow in a year — of 3.03 centimeters.
Analysts had expected an improvement of 1.52 centimeters, Mizuho Securities analyst Salim Syed said in a report. In comparison, a rival treatment of BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (BMRN) called Voxzogo showed an improvement of 2.01 centimeters per year in annual altitude velocity in a similar test. Increasing pharma (ASND) is also studying a treatment for achondroplasia.
“To say the data (was) a win is perhaps an understatement,” he said. “We are now seeing the annual average change in altitude velocity from baseline and in absolute terms at a completely new level.”
In today’s morning stock market trading, BBIO share rose 61.2% to 17.52. Shares broke out of a protracted consolidation with a buy point at 12.74, according to MarketSmith.com. BioMarin shares fell 6.7% close to 94.38. Ascendis shares fell 1.2% close to 112.79.
BBIO Share: 99th percentile growth
Achondroplasia affects a protein called fibroblast growth factor receptor, or FGFR. In children with this condition, the protein functions abnormally and slows bone growth. BridgeBio’s infigratinib blocks a form of that FGFR protein.
In this study, BridgeBio tested its treatment in 12 children. Two did not respond and two have not yet reached the six-month follow-up. At the median, children receiving infigratinib had an annual growth rate of 7.6 centimeters per year. That’s more than the 99th percentile for children with this condition.
The two patients who had not yet reached a six-month follow-up had an annualized growth rate of 8.8 centimeters per year based on three-month data.
Mizuho’s Syed estimates that BBIO stock could reach a market cap of $3 billion based on this drug alone. The company’s market cap reached $2.63 billion in mid-morning trading, up from $1.65 billion before the market opened. He has a buy rating and a price target of 23 on BridgeBio stock.
No security issues in data
Importantly, the drug had no safety concerns. None of the patients had high blood phosphate levels – an important safety signal for this treatment. A high phosphate level can lead to kidney problems.
There was one case of high blood phosphate in a previous study. But it was a mild case that was resolved by a dose adjustment.
“This data (positions) clearly infigratinib as BridgeBio’s second high-risk late-stage asset and we expect stocks to trade to the high teens today,” SVB Leerink analyst Mani Foroohar said in a report. He has an outperform rating for BBIO stock and raised his price target from 20 to 26.
Mizuho’s Syed expects BridgeBio to conduct a similar clinical trial for infigratinib as BioMarin’s Voxzogo. In Phase 3 trials, BioMarin enrolled 120 patients.
“Management noted that about 60 participant slots have already been applied for, reflecting a high level of interest which should translate into a high enrollment rate,” he said.
The news sent BridgeBio shares to their highest since December 2021. BBIO shares have a Relative Strength Rating of 93, which IBD Digital puts stocks in the top 7% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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