Apellis downgraded to Neutral at BofA on wait and see approach to safety issues

As previously reported, BofA analyst Tazeen Ahmad downgraded Apellis to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $40, down from $114, after the company provided an update on a rare number of cases of occlusive retinal vasculitis, or ORV, following Syfovre injection in patients with geographic atrophy, or GA. While the update suggests such safety events are still rare, the firm adopts more conservative estimates as it waits to see how physicians change Syfovre use, the analyst tells investors. The firm’s doctor checks indicate that they will need “a couple quarters” to monitor ORV rates, the analyst added.