Daily Brief Health Care: Assertio Holdings, Immix Biopharma Inc, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and more

• ASRT is not including the recent guideline change at American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (“ASEG”) for using indomethacin as part of their 2023 outlook allows ample room to the upside.
• ASRT had previously provided preliminary fourth quarter results. The official numbers were not much different
• Indocin has been the core of ASRT’s revenue and free cash flow. The new guidelines could become a game changing event for the drug and ASRT

Immix Biopharma has expanded both its clinical and technology portfolio with the in-licensing of its first CAR-T cell therapy, NXC-201. The treatment is being investigated in a Phase Ib/II open-label study for multiple myeloma (MM) and light chain amyloidosis (ALA). The trial intends to recruit up to 100 patients and management believes positive results may potentially support early regulatory approval. In our view, NXC-201 may provide Immix with the scope to expand into new indications within oncology, particularly among hematological malignancies. NXC-201’s clinical development is being independently financed under a subsidiary of Immix (Nexcella, of which Immix owns 98%). Our valuation of Immix is US$61.5m or US$4.4 per share (previously US$55.4m or US$4.0 per share). We await further NXC-201 clinical data and communication on its development plan before including it in our valuation.

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals ended the year on a strong note, with full-year global CF product revenue rising 18% from 2021.
• Their mid- and late-stage clinical pipeline holds the opportunity to provide patients across 8 disease areas with potentially transformative impact.
• The management forecast for product revenue for the entire 2023 fiscal year is $9.55 billion to $9.7 billion, which, after factoring in an estimated 1.5% FX headwind, represents 7% to 9% growth year over year.