These 3 New Biotechs Have Differentiated Platforms, Technology: BofA

Following the expiry of IPO quiet periods for the recently listed Ambrx Biopharma Inc. AMAM, Cyteir Therapeutics, Inc. CYT and Century Therapeutics, Inc. IPSC, analysts at BofA Securities initiated coverage of these stocks.

The Biopharma Analyst: Analyst Tazeen Ahmad initiated coverage of Ambrx shares with a Buy rating and $26 price target.

The analyst initiated Cyteir at Buy and $23 price target.

Analyst Geoff Meacham initiated coverage of Century shares with a Buy rating and $34 price target.

The Competitive Advantage Of Ambrx Biopharma's Platform: Ambrx is building a pipeline of oncology therapeutics based on its site-specific conjugation platform, with an initial focus on antibody-drug conjugate, analyst Ahmad said.

The production of homogenous and stable conjugated biologics, according to the analyst, could provide potential potency and safety advantages over competitive therapies.

Ambrx' lead asset ARX788 is being evaluated in multiple ongoing trials in HER2+ breast, gastric and other solid tumors, the analyst noted. The HER2+ space, though is crowded with approved and pipeline therapies, still presents undermet need, he added. A validated target, the analyst said, could speed up the path to approval.

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Why Cyteir Technology Is Impressive: Cyteir focuses on addressing the synthetic lethality of cells to treat a range of cancers, Ahmad noted.
The company's lead asset CYT0851 is in a Phase 1/2 study in a basket of liquid and solid tumors, the analyst said. The Phase 2 portion and combo study is planned to be initiated in the second half, he added.

The next-gen RAD51 inhibitor, CYT-1853, is in preclinical development with an investigational new drug application expected to be filed in 2022, Ahmad said.

The analyst said he has a positive view of Cyteir's technology, with the combo therapy expected to add meaningful future upside by offering the opportunity to shift ‘0851 into earlier lines of therapy.

"Given development is early, we look for several data updates on efficacy, safety and duration of effect in coming years for ‘0851 to better measure its competitiveness in a diverse landscape of oncology medications," the analyst wrote in the note.

Why Century Is Poised To Make Headway In Cell Therapies: Century's platform uses induced pluripotent stem cells to develop engineered cell lines for oncology, including chimeric antigen receptor-NK cells and CAR-T cells, analyst Meacham said.

The analyst expects an IND filing for CNTY101 in relapsed/ refractory B-cell lymphoma (BCL) in the middle of 2022, CNTY-103 in recurrent glioblastoma in the first-half of 2023 and CNTY-104 in acute myeloid leukemia in mid-2024.

"Initial data in BCL will be helpful in validating the platform, while data in GBM will be important in assessing whether the NK cell approach will be effective in solid tumors," the analyst wrote in the note.

Century, according to Meacham, is well positioned as one of the first companies making significant headway in NK cell therapies.

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