Panbela's Game Changer: Analyst Bets Big on Promising Pancreatic Cancer Combatant

HC Wainwright has initiated coverage on Panbela Therapeutics Inc PBLA with a Buy rating and a $7 price target, a whopping 1300% upside.

Panbela is focused on developing complementary pharmacotherapies targeting polyamine biosynthesis to reduce and/ or normalize levels of disease-associated polyamines in patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. 

The analyst writes that Panbela's approach holds promise and can reignite interest in the field through its multi-targeted approach to attacking metabolic dysregulation. 

Panbela's lead asset, Ivospemin (SBP-101), is a subcutaneously administered synthetic analog of polyamine spermine for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). 

Phase 1a/b data was recently completed, which evaluated Ivospemin in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in previously untreated patients with metastatic PDAC. Briefly, the median overall survival was 14.6 months, which exceeded what is typical for the standard of care of gemcitabine+nab-paclitaxel.

HC Wainwright says the data were highly promising and provided the necessary support for the continued evaluation of Ivospemin.

"While the opportunity for Ivospemin is promising, we note the intrinsic difficulty in pancreatic cancer therapy development," says the analyst.

The analyst also notes Panbela's pipeline that expands outside of PDAC, which helps de-risk the pipeline and offers potential value in other indications.

Price Action: PBLA shares are up 40.40% at $0.59 on the last check Wednesday.