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- HC Wainwright upgraded AcelRx (NASDAQ:ACRX) to buy from neutral citing the likely Emergency Use Authorization approval of Niyad (nafamostat) as an anticoagulant into the extracorporeal circuit.
- The firm has an $8 price target (~820% upside based on Friday’s close).
- Analyst Ed Arce said he is highly confident Niyad will have an EUA granted by the end of the year with the candidate having “a significant and accessible market opportunity.”
- He added that the company is slated to start a phase 3 study of Niyad in Q4 with topline results expected in mid 2024. Positive results could also buoy the drug’s prospects.
- Arce projects Niyad could see more than $100M in peak sales.
- Niyad, which is used as a continuous renal replacement therapy, had Breakthrough Therapy designation from the US FDA and has been used in Japan and South Korea for more than 30 years, Arce noted.
