HC Wainwright Sees 'Multiple Catalyst Opportunities' After Atreca Inks Licensing Pact With Zymeworks

Atreca Inc BCEL announced a licensing agreement with Zymeworks Inc ZYME to utilize their ZymeLink technology to develop novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
The agreement includes a two-year research term for Atreca to evaluate antibodies as ADCs using ZymeLink with the option for a third year.
Atreca can acquire three commercial licenses to develop three unique ADC programs. Specific deal terms were not disclosed.
The Company also declared ATRC-301, an ADC targeting a novel epitope on EphA2, as the Company's next clinical candidate.
EphA2 is a validated and potentially high-value target widely expressed across several cancer types, with 12 tumor types displaying >50% target epitope prevalence in patient samples evaluated.
According to HC Wainwright, expansion of the preclinical pipeline and new licensing agreement provide multiple catalyst opportunities for Atreca.
The analyst reiterated the Buy rating with the price target of $25.
Valuation is currently based solely on the ATRC-101 opportunities in ovarian (26%), colorectal (41%), and NSCLC (33%) cancer indications.
Also See: Atreca Inks Licensing Pact With Gates Research On Malaria Antibody
Atreca has initiated IND-enabling studies for ATRC-301, including a non-human primate toxicology study for which data are expected in 2H of 2022.
It anticipates submitting an IND application for ATRC-301 in 2H of 2023.
Atreca also highlighted four additional lead-stage programs in oncology, including ADC leads APN-497444 and APN-959038, CD3-engager lead APN-346958, and IL-15 superagonist (SA) conjugate lead APN-541885.
Price Action: BCEL shares are down 2.90% at $3.01 during the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.

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