Science of Life Waves improved body composition touted in the study of early stage obesity therapy RNA interference his investigation-but when it comes to the higher 400-mg dose, analysts are not impressed. At $5.59 apiece when the opening bell rang on Thursday, the biotech was trading 54% lower than its previous closing price.
Oppenheimer analyst Cheng Li stuck with the candidate, however. “We would be a buyer on any downside, as the results further support the clean safety profile with once/twice yearly dosing of WVE-007,” Li said Thursday, according to Reuters.
Wave is studying its WVE-007 siRNA therapy in the INLIGHT study, which includes a single rising-dose Phase 1 portion in healthy adults who are overweight or obese, and a Phase 2a portion that will look at multiple doses of WVE-007. Thursday’s reading comes from the Phase 1 portion of the trial.
The results showed that at six months, participants treated with 240-mg WVE-007 reduced 14.3% of their visceral fat, a statistically significant increase from baseline and up from 9.2% at three months. Total fat mass in six months decreased by 5.3% while lean mass increased by 2.4%. Patients at this dose level also saw a 3.3% reduction in waist circumference and a 0.9% decrease in body weight at six months.
However, when it comes to the three-month data from the 400-mg cohort, analysts appear to be expecting more, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Participants in this cohort saw 5% visceral fat loss, 0.2% lean mass loss and less than 1% total fat loss.
“Investors seem discouraged by 400 mg of data in 3 months, which looks similar in visceral fat as 240 mg is not as good in total fat and lean mass, although there are some differences in the basic BMI and body composition of this cohort can explain some of these observations,” said Leerink a Mitra. Reuters reported.
Wave noted in its press release that this cohort had a leaner baseline body composition, with a lower BMI and more participants with healthy levels of visceral fat. The company also stated that a posthoc analysis showed a 7.8% reduction in visceral fat, a result “similar to that observed in the 240 mg cohort.”
The biotech also showed the visceral fat-to-muscle ratio, a metric used to calculate body composition, for the 240-mg dose group at six months. A single dose of 240 mg resulted in a 16.5% decrease in this ratio — better than what Novo Nordisk’s 2.4-mg dose of semaglutide achieved in six months, according to Wave — a 12.2% decrease from baseline.
Last December, Wave reported a 9.2% reduction in visceral fat at three months with the 240-mg dose, accompanied by a 0.9% increase in lean mass. Truist analysts at the time called the data “impressive.” Wave shares rose 80% after the reading.
Although still in Phase I, Wave Life Sciences’ injectable RNA weight loss treatment achieved results that impressed analysts, with a 4% fat reduction after three months, beating Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide at a similar time point.
Despite this week’s stock crash, analysts at Mizuho Securities said in a note Thursday that WVE-007 delivered “good data.” The reduction of visceral fat and waist circumference, “while maintaining lean mass is particularly encouraging, and continues to demonstrate WVE-007 as a distinct mechanism for obesity.”
The company models about $7 billion in worldwide peak sales for WVE-003.
The biotech now plans to start the Phase 2a portion of INLIGHT in the second quarter, looking to enroll patients with a higher body mass index and weight-related comorbidities, according to Thursday’s release. The biotech will also run a new trial of WVE-007 as part of an incretin-based regimen or as a post-incretin therapy.
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