The Street Is Getting The Ophthotech Story All Wrong

Ophthotech Corp OPHT has declined 45 percent over the past month, driven by investor concerns regarding the company’s upcoming Phase 3 data.

Citi’s Yigal Nochomovitz maintained a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $92.

The Real Story

Nochomovitz believes that investors “aren't sufficiently appreciating that there was a clear dose response in the Ph2b.”

The analyst believes this fact is repeatedly overlooked because Ophthotech didn't provide direct statistics of the comparison between low dose Fovista and high dose Fovista, choosing instead to focus on the overall positive results of high dose Fovista in combination with Lucentis versus Lucentis monotherapy.

Nochomovitz explained the Phase 2b results, stating, “When using a dose response analysis incorporating all time points, Fovista 1.5 mg improved vision sig. better than Fovista 0.3 mg and Fovista 0.3 mg improved vision sig. better than Lucentis alone.”