A buy rating has been given to the stock of Can Fite Biopharma Ltd (ADR) (NYSEMKT:CANF) by HC Wainwright. The equity firm also raised the price target by $2 at $6.00 in the clients and investors report that was released on November 30. Monday saw the shares of the company rally at 5.88% in mid-day trade at $3.42. The market value of the company stock is $36.45 million.
Breakthrough Development In NASH Drug
Meanwhile, the company has got a new high as a new development has been seen the liver cancer curing drug CF 102 that is in the Phase II clinical trials. The drug is being developed for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is a popular liver cancer type and the drug will also cure non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) that causes damage to liver due to excess fat storage. Even NASH can lead to liver cancer if not addressed on time and as per the National Institutes of Health, 2 to 5 per cent Americans are affected by it.
According to the Deutsche Bank, the NASH medicinal industry is estimated to reach over $35 billion by 2025. Even as there are many companies who are into development of drugs for treating NASH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to gives its green signal to any such drug and thus Can Fite Biopharma has a lifetime opportunity of developing the first FDA approved NASH drug if all goes well.
Patent Filed For CF102
Can Fite Biopharma Ltd (ADR) (NYSEMKT: CANF)CEO Dr Pnina Fishman said that after the positive new development of CF102 for which the preclinical trial has been completed, the company has filed for a patent for the drug in treating NASH. He said that the breakthrough CF102 drug had data to support its claim of being an effective cure for NASH.
The CF 102 drug lowered the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and also significantly reduced the liver weight in tandem to the body weight. The animals that were used in the clinical trials showed better pathology and the drug also reduced the levels of plasma ALT and triglycerides in the liver. The preclinical trial had showed that the CF102 drug could help in regeneration of the liver post surgery. The drug has already got the Orphan Drugs Designation in Europe and the U.S.