- Calling POAI undervalued, Litchfield initiates coverage of Predictive Oncology with Buy rating, $3 price target
- The drug industry is changing as tools and technology to tailor drugs emerge, regulatory bodies focus on patients’ experiences, perspectives, needs
- Litchfield report notes several POAI strengths under “Investment Thesis” section
A growing number of companies and health providers alike are paying attention to what the FDA is calling patient-focused drug development (“PFDD”), a systematic approach to help ensure that patients’ experiences, perspectives, needs and priorities are captured and meaningfully incorporated into drug development and evaluation. In that growing market, Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ: POAI), a knowledge-driven company focused on applying artificial intelligence (“AI”) to personalized medicine and drug discovery, has been given a “Buy” rating by equity research firm Litchfield Hills Research LLC, which uses a three-tiered (buy-hold-sell) rating system (https://ibn.fm/lMp50).
“If you have ever had a medical condition that had to be treated with medication that had complex dosing requirements or complex directions for taking the medication, or side effects that made you stop, the drug industry is now paying attention,” noted Litchfield’s first analyst coverage report on Predictive Oncology. “Development of drugs to treat diseases was never tailored to any one individual because the tools to do that weren’t available, so development was generally not optimized for individual patient outcomes in terms of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (‘API’), side effects, getting the most out of the least amount of API (bioavailability), and medication regimen complexity and adherence.
“However, that is changing, especially as tools and technology to tailor drugs emerge, and the regulatory bodies, like the FDA, are focused on patient’s experiences, perspectives and needs,” the Litchfield report continued. “As experts in what it is like to live with their condition, patients are uniquely positioned to inform the understanding of the therapeutic context for drug development and evaluation.”
The report notes several of POAI’s strengths under its “Investment Thesis” section, including that the company is “advancing state-of-the-art patient-centric drug development systems, which is the leading edge of current drug development, as the industry tries to reduce the time needed for commercial drug development.” Other strengths include that the company operates four subsidiaries, that its commercial business provides a stable revenue stream, and that the company has a strong balance sheet, having just completed a capital raise. In addition, the report notes that POAI has an “exceptional management team. The company has assembled an experienced management team for each of its pre-commercial subsidiaries to advance them towards commercialization.”
Calling POAI undervalued, Litchfield pronounced the following: “We are initiating coverage of Predictive Oncology Inc. with a Buy rating and a $3.00 price target. Predictive Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: POAI) is a commercial stage biotech firm tackling cancer, assisting in vaccine development and solving medical waste issues.”
Litchfield Hills Research adheres to FINRA standards for quality and objectivity. The Litchfield Hills Research Department certifies its report is compliant with FINRA research rules 2241, 3110; that Litchfield is registered with FINRA; and that the report has been reviewed by a supervisory senior analyst. Litchfield’s price target, financial models, peer comparisons and investment thesis are developed without input from management of the company, and it performs its own due diligence.
POAI is bringing precision medicine, or tailored medical treatment using the individual characteristics of each patient, to the treatment of cancer. Through its Helomics division, the company leverages its unique, clinically validated patient derived (“PDx”) smart tumor profiling platform to provide oncologists with a roadmap to help individualize therapy. In addition, the company is leveraging artificial intelligence and its proprietary database of over 150,000 cancer cases tumors to build AI-driven models of tumor drug response to improve outcomes for the patients of today and tomorrow.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Predictive-Oncology.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to POAI are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/POAI
