William Blair downgrades Kezar on lack of near-term catalysts

William Blair downgraded Kezar Life Sciences to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target after company hosted an R&D day to highlight development plans for lead asset zetomipzomib in lupus nephritis and autoimmune hepatitis. The timelines to reach the data results "leave a gap" in clinical catalysts that will limit share price upside in the near term, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm, however, remains confident in the potential of zetomipzomib in lupus nephritis based on the strength of the MISSION data, and believes the PALIZADE Phase IIb study will provide "unequivocal data" from a randomized, controlled trial across patients on both standard induction regimens and non-induction regimens.