It has been hard to miss the excitement around a latest class of obesity medications , but one big drawback to those therapies is that they require a weekly injection. Enter biotech startup Structure Therapeutics , which is hoping to alter that regimen with oral GLP-1 formulations for obesity and Type 2 diabetes treatment. Structure went public earlier this month, raising $161 million in an upsized initial public offering. The stock rallied 73% in its first day of trading, but has pulled back within the weeks since its debut. On Tuesday, nevertheless, several firms initiated coverage of the stock with buy and outperform rankings. The positive analyst commentary rekindled interest within the stock, driving shares up greater than 6% intraday. The corporate’s stock symbol, GPCR, is a nod to its deal with G protein-coupled receptors, which help cells function. It has a lot of drug candidates within the pipeline targeting each pulmonary and metabolic conditions, but much of the interest is targeted on GSBR-1290, an oral receptor agonist of glucagon-like-peptide-1, or GLP-1. Key data from the drug’s clinical trials is anticipated within the fourth quarter, which could possibly be a catalyst for the stock. If all goes well, it could launch by 2027, which remains to be competitive, said BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic are currently in the marketplace and approved to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and Lilly expects to achieve clearance for obesity treatment later this yr. GPCR 1M mountain Shares have pulled back for the reason that stock debuted earlier this month. “GSBR-1290 could help address a good portion of patients (as much as 50%) who are not looking for injectable therapy or have limited access, given the oral route of administration,” Seigerman wrote in a research note Tuesday. He rates the stock outperform and has a $40 price goal on it, which means a 67% return from Monday’s close. BMO was among the many group of investment banks acting as joint book runners for Structure’s IPO. Jefferies analyst Chris Howerton initiated the stock with a buy rating and a $34 price goal — representing 42% upside to Monday’s close. (Jefferies was the lead book runner in Structure’s IPO.) “GLP1 peptides are projected to sell $50B in diabetes/obesity by 2028,” Howerton said. “While there’s space for any latest GLP1 to fill, lead asset GSBR-1290 appears uniquely positioned to satisfy unmet demand since it’s cheaper to produce, while current data suggests a superior chemical profile over competitor small molecules.” Shortages have plagued the prevailing obesity medications, and their costs has been prohibitive for a lot of potential patients. Structure’s formulation could allow it “greater manufacturing scalability, faster effective dose finding, and potentially fewer negative effects,” Howerton said. Each analysts also touted the corporate’s experienced management team and the potential for its drug-discovery platform to rapidly discover other small molecule therapeutics. “We expect additional clinical candidates to emerge from the platform,” BMO’s Seigerman said. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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