By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) are up about 10% today after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday cleared the company’s Zynteglo therapy.
Bluebird shares initially jumped over 20% yesterday before paring gains to close 3% higher.
Analysts see the approval as a clear tailwind for BLUE shares, which are down about 35% YTD. Here’s what three BLUE analysts had to say about the approval.
“This is a clear positive for BLUE and the broader field of gene therapy, but we remain SP, Speculative Risk on the stock given a relatively small commercial opportunity (recall most patients are in Europe, where BLUE discontinued the commercial effort post payors’ pushback - link) and awaiting further clarity on SCD.” - RBC analyst.
“We view this approval as a positive precedent for the company’s other gene therapy products, especially lovo-cel for sickle cell disease (SCD), which is the most promising potential revenue driver for the company.” - Raymond James analyst.
“FDA approval, while expected, is a positive for BLUE, allowing mgt. to extend its cash runway by selling the priority review voucher (estimates ~$100-125M). Near-term progress on the SCD filing, removal of the going concern language and initial TDT uptake re key drivers of BLUE.” - Morgan Stanley analyst.