NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 10, 2015 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on smallcap and microcap public companies, today announced it has issued an update on Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA).
The report is available here: OPXA Update Note. SeeThruEquity is an approved equity research contributor on Thomson First Call, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Zack's. The report will be available on these platforms. The firm also contributes its estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
"We are maintaining our price target of $3.06 per share for Opexa at this time. As we indicated in our initiation in August, We see the next twelve months as potentially game-changing for Opexa, as the company is nearing completion of its high-profile Abili-T Phase 2b clinical trial for Tcelna(R). The release of results from the trial triggers the expiration date of potential Phase 3 partner Merck-Serono's option and license agreement with the company, which, if exercised, has the potential to be highly lucrative for Opexa," stated Ajay Tandon, CEO of SeeThruEquity.
Additional highlights from the update are as follows:
Opexa secures agreement to potentially fund NMO program
On September 1, 2015, OPXA announced that it had entered into a stock purchase agreement with a private investor to potentially fund the company's neuromyelitis optica (NMO) orphan development program, including a planned Phase I/II clinical study. Currently, there are no approved treatments for NMO, which is a debilitating autoimmune disorder in which immune system cells and antibodies attack and destroy astrocytic/myelin cells in the optic nerves and the spinal cord. We note that NMO is an orphan indication, which management estimates could be a market size of $300mn-$500mn per year in peak sales, subject to successful clinical development.
Up to $5mn in financing for OPX-212 for NMO
According to Opexa management, the agreement will provide the company up to $5mn, upon achievement of certain pre-specified milestones, provided in five tranches through December 2016. Opexa has already received the first tranche of $0.5mn, priced at $0.55 per share. Opexa will be eligible to receive additional funding in 1Q16 after completing ongoing preclinical activities and subsequent submission of an IND for OPX-212 in NMO no later than February 15, 2016, as well as future milestones throughout the year. The first tranche of the financing includes warrants to acquire an equal number of shares at an initial exercise price of $0.50 through June 30, 2016, with an increase in exercise price to $1.50 through expiration in April 2018. Future tranches do not include warrants.
Funding furthers aim of developing portfolio of personalized immunotherapies
While much of our attention has been focused on the ongoing Abili-T Phase 2b clinical trial for Tcelna(R) for SPMS and the potentially lucrative option held by Merck Serono for Tcena(R), we see funding for Opexa's NMO program as a key achievement. Indeed, Opexa has invested over $90mn in developing its proprietary T-cell technology platform, and is seeking to build a portfolio of personalized immunotherapies, with NMO being the second program following Tcelna(R) for SPMS.
Please review important disclosures on our website at www.seethruequity.com.
About Opexa Therapeutics, Inc.
Opexa is a biopharmaceutical company developing a personalized immunotherapy with the potential to treat major illnesses, including multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as other autoimmune diseases such as neuromyelitis optica (NMO). These therapies are based on Opexa's proprietary T-cell technology. The Company's leading therapy candidate, Tcelna(R), is a personalized T-cell immunotherapy that is in a Phase IIb clinical development program (the Abili-T trial) for the treatment of secondary progressive MS. Tcelna consists of myelin-reactive T-cells, which are expanded ex vivo from the patient's peripheral blood and reintroduced into the patient in an attenuated form via subcutaneous injections. This process triggers a potent immune response against specific subsets of autoreactive T-cells known to attack myelin for each individual patient.
For more information visit the Opexa Therapeutics website at www.opexatherapeutics.com.
About SeeThruEquity
SeeThruEquity is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on companies with less than $1 billion in market capitalization. The research is not paid for and is unbiased. The company does not conduct any investment banking or commission based business. SeeThruEquity is approved to contribute its research to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), Capital IQ, FactSet, Zacks, and distribute its research to its database of opt-in investors. The company also contributes its estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
For more information visit www.seethruequity.com.
Contact:
Ajay Tandon
SeeThruEquity
info@seethruequity.com
SOURCE: SeeThruEquity
