Entera Bio Ltd.’s (ENTX) share price surged 44.8% to close at $6.50 on June 23.
Entera Bio is a developer of orally delivered large molecule and biologic therapeutics. The company continues to witness developments and improvements in drug research in 2021, winning the confidence of its investors and seeing its share price rise to a new high.
With a market capital of 154.5 million, the share price of Entera Bio has almost tripled recently. It has skyrocketed 507.5% and 233.3% over the past six months and a year, respectively.
Why The Euphoria on ENTX?
On June 23, the company announced its Phase 2 progress related to the treatment of osteoporosis, a bone disease.
The company declared the positive final six-month bone mineral density (BMD) results from the completed Phase 2 clinical trial of its orally delivered human parathyroid hormone (1-34), or PTH, drug candidate for osteoporosis, EB613.
The study met the vital BMD endpoint, showing a significant increase in BMD in the lumbar spine, common hip, and hip neck after six months of treatment. Patients in the 2.5 mg dose group experienced a 3.78% improvement in lumbar spine BMD, 2.76% increase in hip neck and a 1.84% increase in total hip BMD, compared to the placebo group, over the six month period.
Markedly, the drug had no severe adverse effects.
The Phase 2 study was conducted on 161 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or with low bone mineral density. It was done at leading medical centers in Israel to assess the safety and efficacy of varying doses of EB613.
Entera Bio CEO Spiros Jamas said, “We are very excited and encouraged by these great results which will support advancing discussions with potential strategic partners. These results are in line with our previously reported biomarker results and further validate Entera’s platform technology and its potential to enable oral formulation of various large molecules for a range of indications that could benefit from an oral drug.” (See Entera Bio stock chart on TipRanks)
Jamas further added, “We are looking forward to an end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA. More detailed results will also be presented in a future scientific conference and publications. The company will evaluate potential additional osteoporosis market opportunities specifically related to increases in hip BMD.”
In addition, the firm said it plans to hold a Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in future months to review the EB613 development program.
EB613, once approved, will be the first oral bone building (osteoanabolic) treatment for osteoporosis. This drug should provide an oral alternative to daily injections, which should be far more convenient to patients.
Given the fact that fewer than 5% of osteoporosis patients on any form of therapy are treated with an injectable anabolic agent, the company has huge prospects in this field going forward.
So, if the study gives promising results, investors could gain from this stock.
Global Osteoporosis Drugs Market Growth
Per a study from Reportlinker.com, the global osteoporosis drugs market is projected to grow to $20.17 billion by 2026. This represents a CAGR of 6.83% from 2020 through 2026.
The report states that the market growth is driven by the increase in the prevalence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and rising awareness among the public about osteoporosis care.
Given the increasing investment in R&D activities for the development of advanced new drugs in osteoporosis and awaited drug approvals, Entera Bio has immense growth opportunities in this space.
Analyst Rating
The stock has picked up a rating from one analyst in the past three months. On June 15, B.Riley Financial analyst Kalpit Patel initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $9 (38.5% upside potential).
Patel believes that Entera Bio could receive FDA approval for its drug as early as 2024. He said, “Entera Bio lead program could achieve a streamlined regulatory path as a first oral osteoanabolic agent for treating osteoporosis. Entera is advancing its proprietary drug formulation technology—which we believe will allow commercialization of other compounds—to enable oral delivery of protein-based therapeutics that are currently only available as injectables.”
He spoke positively about ENTX stock, saying, “We believe ENTX shares offer a reasonably attractive entry point ahead of potentially de-risking final data analyses from an ongoing osteoporosis study in 2Q21.”
TipRanks’ Metric
Entera Bio scores a 4 of 10 from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock is likely to perform in line with market averages.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article should be taken as a solicitation to purchase or sell securities.
