Shinhan Investment Corp. announced on May 29 that it has raised its target price for Hanall Biopharma from 48,000 won to 130,000 won, a 171% increase, citing the company's progress in developing a treatment for refractory rheumatoid arthritis (D2T RA) and expectations for substantial royalty revenues. The firm maintained its "buy" rating on the stock.
Analyst Eom Min-yong noted, "This is the first time globally that the FcRn mechanism has shown potential for success in D2T RA," adding that it is a pivotal moment to focus on anticipated royalty income and the potential for expanding indications.
Shinhan Investment Corp. also assessed that Hanall Biopharma's partner, Immunovant, has secured superior efficacy with its drug IMVT-1402 compared to competing global treatments.
Notably, Johnson & Johnson has withdrawn its drug nipocalimab from D2T RA clinical trials, and Azenex's Vivgart has also failed to demonstrate efficacy in this indication, positioning IMVT-1402 as a likely frontrunner and leading treatment option.
IMVT-1402 has been evaluated to show a relative improvement effect of 2 to 3 times compared to nipocalimab on key rheumatoid arthritis indicators such as ACR20, ACR50, and ACR70.
Despite Azenex's setbacks in some clinical trials for expanding indications, Shinhan Investment Corp. expects the company to generate $4.2 billion in revenue this year solely from myasthenia gravis (MG) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).
In contrast, IMVT-1402 is anticipated to gain an advantage over competing drugs across various indications, including thyroid eye disease (TED), membranous nephropathy (MN), pemphigus, and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).
Shinhan Investment Corp. highlighted the potential for IMVT-1402 to become the first and only approved treatment for Graves' disease (GD), D2T RA, and cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE).
The firm estimates that even without revenue from D2T RA, sales from other indications could exceed $5.1 billion by 2032. Applying a mid-teens royalty rate, Hanall Biopharma could potentially receive annual royalties of around 1 trillion won.
Additionally, there are expectations for intensified merger and acquisition discussions involving Immunovant by major global pharmaceutical companies.
Eom emphasized, "It is the only treatment capable of achieving an 80% reduction in immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels through the FcRn mechanism, making it difficult for latecomers to achieve additional efficacy improvements."
He added, "According to U.S. CMS guidelines, price protection can be maintained for 13 years, and patents are protected until 2043. The final clinical results for D2T RA scheduled for the second half of this year will be a key momentum."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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