Select Medical stock price target raised by RBC Capital to $20 on regulatory relief

 RBC Capital has raised its price target on Select Medical Holdings (NYSE:SEM) to $20.00 from $16.00 while maintaining an Outperform rating.

The firm cited "significant dislocation" in Select Medical shares, creating what it views as an attractive entry point as regulatory headwinds begin to lift for the healthcare provider. 

RBC Capital specifically noted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to delay implementation of the 20% transmittal rule, which the analyst interprets as indicating receptivity to industry concerns regarding recent changes in long-term acute care (LTAC) reimbursement.

The firm expects Select Medical to record a one-time benefit in the third quarter of 2025 that will offset a portion of the LTAC reimbursement headwind recorded through the first half of 2025.

The higher price target reflects both easing regulatory headwinds and what RBC Capital considers a more appropriate LTAC multiple assumption going forward, giving the firm added confidence in its "street-high" 2025 adjusted EBITDA estimate for Select Medical.

https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/select-medical-stock-price-target-raised-by-rbc-capital-to-20-on-regulatory-relief-93CH-4276634

Guggenheim initiates CG Oncology stock with Buy rating, $90 price target

 Guggenheim initiated coverage on CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON) with a Buy rating and a $90.00 price target on Wednesday. The $2.9 billion market cap company has seen its shares surge 143.75% over the past six months, currently trading near its 52-week high of $40.65.

The research firm highlighted cretostimogene’s potential in the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) market, citing its "best-in-class efficacy, durability and safety" for a treatment expected to enter FDA review next year. 

Guggenheim noted that NMIBC patients seek therapies to avoid invasive operations or bladder removal, creating strong motivation to use the most durable product with a pristine safety profile - attributes the firm believes cretostimogene provides.

https://m.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/guggenheim-initiates-cg-oncology-stock-with-buy-rating-90-price-target-93CH-4276781

JPMorgan upgrades Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock to Overweight on pipeline progress

 JPMorgan has upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) from Neutral to Overweight and significantly raised its price target to $80.00 from $49.00. 

The upgrade follows an active September for Ionis, which included positive results for olezarsen in severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG) showing AP benefit, and successful Phase III data in Alexander Disease, along with encouraging pipeline updates at the company’s Innovation Day. The company’s revenue has shown solid growth of 16% over the last twelve months.

Despite Ionis shares already rallying 97% year-to-date, compared to the NBI and XBI indices gaining only 18% and 15% respectively, JPMorgan believes the stock will continue to outperform based on revised financial models. 

JPMorgan has specifically increased estimates for olezarsen based on strong AP benefit data, while also adding risk-adjusted credit for ION582 (Angelman syndrome) and zilganersen (Alexander Disease) in their valuation model.

The firm views Ionis as entering a new phase with multiple wholly-owned and partner product launches underway or approaching, creating a clearer path to breakeven and profitability, with additional upside potential from upcoming pipeline readouts.

https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/jpmorgan-upgrades-ionis-pharmaceuticals-stock-to-overweight-on-pipeline-progress-93CH-4276363

STAAR Surgical holders should vote against sale to Alcon, Glass Lewis says

 Leading proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended that STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) shareholders vote against the proposed acquisition by Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC), according to a statement released by Broadwood Partners. Alcon, currently trading near its 52-week low with a market capitalization of $37.8 billion, has maintained profitability with revenue of $10 billion in the last twelve months. 

In its report, Glass Lewis highlighted concerns regarding the sale process, timing, and price of the transaction announced on August 5, 2025. The advisory firm stated that "investors would be better served scuppering the current arrangement" in favor of either a reset of the process or pursuing the company’s standalone potential.

Glass Lewis noted that STAAR CEO Steve Farrell and Chair Dr. Elizabeth Yeu did not disclose information about inbound acquisition interest to the rest of the board. This information was also not included in STAAR’s proxy statement to shareholders.

The proxy advisor criticized the deal’s timing, pointing out that it was announced just one day before STAAR’s second-quarter results, which showed improved performance. Glass Lewis questioned the process, describing it as lacking thoroughness with "substantial and credible questions regarding timing, cadence and transparency."

Regarding valuation, the advisory firm observed that the deal implies a next-twelve-months revenue multiple of approximately 4.56x, which falls below both the median and mean multiples of comparable healthcare equipment transactions.

Broadwood Partners, which opposes the transaction, stated that shareholders representing over 34% of STAAR’s outstanding shares have publicly announced their opposition to the deal. This group includes Yunqi Capital, Defender Capital, CalSTRS, and former STAAR CEO David Bailey.

STAAR has scheduled a special meeting of shareholders for October 23, 2025, to vote on the proposed acquisition. 

https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/glass-lewis-recommends-shareholders-vote-against-staaralcon-deal-93CH-4277743

ASML, KLA fall after US House panel calls out industry for sales to China's military-linked companies

 Semiconductor companies including Applied Materials Inc. and ASML Holding NV fell after a US House committee said that the industry was boosting China’s semiconductor industry and supporting its military, raising the specter of further export controls.

Applied Materials, ASML, Tokyo Electron Ltd., KLA Corp. and Lam Research Corp. “made sizable returns selling equipment to Chinese state-owned and military-linked companies,” the House China panel said on Tuesday, citing the companies’ sales data. There is no claim that any tool maker has violated US, Dutch or Japanese law.

The committee called on President Donald Trump’s administration to “dramatically expand country-wide bans and licensing requirements” on tool exports to China. It has no power to impose those restrictions itself and the US Commerce Department doesn’t have to follow its recommendations, but the call to action raised fears that further export bans are in train.

The semiconductor industry has been a major target as tensions between China and the US ramp up, with the American government requiring greater restrictions on exports from the US and its allies. Last month the US scrapped Biden-era authorizations that have allowed ASML customers Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to get supplies to Chinese factories without seeking Washington’s permission each time.

China’s advance in manufacturing chips “poses threats” to US national security, the panel said. It accused the toolmakers of selling directly to entities known to both produce chips for the Chinese military, and of supporting China’s efforts to build a chip making industry.

ASML is the world’s only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines needed to produce high-end chips used in everything from electric vehicles to military gear. The Dutch company has never been able to sell its most advanced machines to China because of US-led export restrictions.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asml-shares-fall-us-house-083143843.html

Zenas Bets $2B+ in Autoimmune Agreement With Chinese Firm InnoCare

 

The centerpiece of the deal is orelabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor in late-stage development for multiple sclerosis that Biogen once paid $125 million for but abandoned after less than two years of testing.

Like many of its biopharma peers, Zenas BioSciences is looking to China for innovative therapies to take forward, signing a global licensing deal with Beijing-based InnoCare Pharma for multiple autoimmune drug candidates, including one in Phase III for multiple sclerosis.

According to a statement Wednesday, Zenas is fronting $100 million in cash to cover the contract’s upfront and near-term payments, including certain milestones anticipated next year. At the same time, the Boston-area company included up to 7 million shares of its common stock in the exchange, some of which are issuable after InnoCare hits a milestone in early 2026.

Aside from these considerations, the Chinese collaborator will also receive development, regulatory and commercial sales milestones for all three programs. All told, the deal’s total value could be upwards of $2 billion, the companies announced. InnoCare will also be eligible to tiered royalties reaching up to the high-teens percentage on annual net sales of the three licensed drugs.

In a statement, Zenas CEO Lonnie Moulder called Wednesday’s arrangement “transformative,” giving the drugmaker three promising clinical assets, including one that could end up become a “blockbuster franchise for progressive MS [multiple sclerosis].”

That treatment for MS is the BTK inhibitor orelabrutinib, an oral drug capable of penetrating into the central nervous system. In July 2021, Biogen paid $125 million upfront and put up to $812.5 million on the line for exclusive global rights to orelabrutinib, except in the greater China region. In February 2023, however, the pharma turned its back on this partnership and returned orelabrutinib to InnoCare.

Orelabrutinib is approved for several hematological cancers in China, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma. The drug has yet to clear the FDA’s bar in the U.S., but is currently undergoing a Phase III global and registration-directed trial in primary progressive MS, the companies announced Wednesday. Zenas also plans to run a late-stage global program for orelabrutinib, set to start in the first quarter of 2026.

Aside from orelabrutinib, the InnoCare deal will also give Zenas obexelimab, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits B cell function and is being proposed for IgG4-related disease, relapsing MS and systemic lupus erythematosus. The Boston drugmaker will also get an oral IL-17AA/AF blocker and an oral, brain-penetrant TYK2 inhibitor, both of which are in early development.

2025 has seen a sharp uptick in China deals. According to an analysis by IQVIA in August, biopharma committed as much as $48.5 billion in Chinese contracts just in the first half of the year, already outpacing the industry’s $44.8 billion pledge in all of 2024. Among the standout deals are Pfizer’s May contract with 3SBio, which involved a $1.25 billion upfront payment with up to $4.8 billion in milestones.

AstraZeneca has also been a prolific dealmaker with Chinese firms this year. The pharma in June partnered with CSPC for $5.3 billion, just three months after it put $4.5 billion on the line for Harbour Biomed.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/zenas-bets-2b-in-autoimmune-agreement-with-chinese-firm-innocare

Sanofi Comes for Novartis’ Radiopharma Crown With ‘Clinically Meaningful’ Pancreatic Tumor Data

 

Sanofi’s Orano Med-partnered radioligand therapy AlphaMedix achieved all primary efficacy endpoints, which included a measure of overall response rate, in the mid-stage ALPHAMEDIX-02 study.

Watch out Novartis: another Big Pharma has finally entered the radiopharma ring. Sanofi and partner Orano Med’s targeted radioligand therapy achieved a “clinically meaningful” overall response against an advanced type of pancreatic tumor in a Phase II clinical trial.

While the companies did not detail specifics in their Wednesday release, the therapy, called AlphaMedix, achieved all primary efficacy endpoints, which included a measure of overall response rate (ORR), in the mid-stage ALPHAMEDIX-02 study. The trial was testing the somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-targeted alpha therapy in patients with difficult to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) who had received prior treatment.

Benefits were also observed on key secondary endpoints including progression-free survival and overall survival. The therapy had a “manageable safety profile,” the companies said.

“These data reinforce our belief that delivering highly potent alpha-emitters directly to cancer cells could potentially offer a meaningful new treatment option for people living with GEP-NETs,” Volker Wagner, chief medical officer at Orano, said in a statement.

The study is continuing on. Sanofi pledged to reveal full results at the upcoming European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress later this month. The ALPHAMEDIX-02 data will also “form the basis of discussions with health authorities,” although the companies did not provide details.

Sanofi and Orano’s results are a shot across the bow at Novartis’ radioligand enterprise, which comprises Lutathera for GEP-NETs and Pluvicto for prostate cancer. Long the leader in the modality, Novartis began to see competition encroaching in recent years as other pharmas made major plays.

But until now, the data have been slow to build a case for more entrants. Sanofi joined up with Orano in October 2024 in a $326 million equity deal to develop new alpha therapies using lead-212 alpha-emitting isotopes. But the star of the deal was AlphaMedix, a lead-212 targeted radioligand therapy that was under development for GEP-NETs.

Lutathera was approved for GEP-NETs in January 2018. At the time, the FDA noted that patients with these rare tumors had limited options after the cancer advances following initial treatment.

GEP-NETs occur in the pancreas and in other parts of the gastrointestinal tract from hormone-producing neuroendocrine cells. They can sometimes excrete hormones and cause issues or remain silent until the growth begins to cause problems. The tumors are typically removed by surgery, but radioligand therapies have become a key second-line treatment option since Lutathera’s approval.

Novartis reported net sales of $724 million for Lutathera in 2024, a 20% change over the previous year. Pluvicto, meanwhile has crossed into blockbuster status with $1.4 billion in sales.

Also in the radioligand game are Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly, which bought into the modality via the acquisitions of RayzeBio and Point Biopharma, respectively.

https://www.biospace.com/drug-development/sanofi-comes-for-novartis-radiopharma-crown-with-clinically-meaningful-pancreatic-tumor-data