Hyperfine could have ‘interesting’ opportunity in Alzheimer’s, says Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar notes that Biogen’s (BIIB) recently-approved aducanumab and lecanemab for Alzheimer’s are associated with side effects including ARIA-E, or amyloid-related imaging abnormalities – edema, and ARIA-H, or micro hemorrhages, and that the firm has received some questions on whether a portable MRI could be used for monitoring patients. After having recently conducted a case study with three physicians to gauge their views on the potential for monitoring patients during treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the analyst said the physicians were not aware of the portable MRI for scanning the brain offered by Hyperfine, but in general their view was that if the clinical data supported the system’s ability to detect ARIA, they would be open to consider its use. The analyst points out that Hyperfine does not currently have any clinical data in Alzheimer’s, but also noted that the company has shown its ability to detect ARIA-E and contends that a small trial showing equivalence to traditional MRI detecting these abnormalities "could open up an interesting new opportunity." Evercore has an Outperform rating and $2 price target on Hyperfine shares.