Jefferies sees Esperion takeout potential rising after near-term catalysts

Jefferies says Europe’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human made a positive recommendation to expand Esperion Therapeutics’ bempedoic acid’s label to incorporate the new cardiovascular benefit data and implies European Union approval should come in late May. This should also de-risk the imminent FDA label expansion by end of March and enable “Launch 2.0,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm thinks 2024 the consensus U.S. revenue estimate of $150M looks achievable given script trends. Both approvals should facilitate “discussions with strategics,” which investors are not appreciating, contends Jefferies. It says Esperion has two important regulatory catalysts in the near term that have a high probability of success and will accelerate the U.S. bempedoic launch starting in Q2. Jefferies also believes Esperion’s takeover potential “should increasingly go higher” as it moves past regulatory risks like U.S. and Europe label expansions. The firm has a Buy rating on the shares with a $5 price target.