Stifel expects pressure on Apellis ‘to be short-lived’

Stifel notes that recent ASRS member notification of six IOI events with retinal vasculitis, calculated as a 1 in 10,000 infection rate, “has stoked new safety fears for Syfovre,” adding that seeing infection in a real-world environment was “inevitable, but no less concerning.” However, the firm believes the risk/benefit will likely still weigh favorably for the vast majority of patients and points out that a rate of 1 in 10,000 suggests that 60,000 injections have been administered thus far, “indicating continued strong and compounding momentum” in Q2. The firm, which expects the current pressure on Apellis shares from the news “to be short-lived with greater clarification at the upcoming ASRS meeting,” has a Buy rating and $90 price target on the shares.