JPMorgan analyst Jessica Fye believes the long-acting growth hormone deficiency competitive landscape is evolving favorably for Ascendis Pharma heading into the Phase III results for the company's TransCon growth hormone in Q1 of 2019. The past 12-24 months has brought emerging clinical issues for all three of the key long-acting competitors, Fye tells investors in a research note. These range from the failure of Versartis (VSAR) at the most extreme, to the missed pivotal trial in adults for Pfizer (PFE) and Opko (OPK), to results that may raise questions around efficacy for Novo (NVO) in adults, Fye contends. The analyst believes these create opportunity for Ascendis, assuming the company is successful in Phase III. She continues to have high conviction in the success of the Phase III trial and keeps an Overweight rating on Ascendis Pharma with an $81 price target.

Pfizer announced that the European Commission, or EC, has granted marketing authorization for Emblaveo for the treatment of adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections, or cIAI, hospital-acquired pneumonia, or HAP, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, or VAP, and complicated urinary tract infections, or cUTI, including pyelonephritis. It is also indicated for the treatment of infections due to aerobic Gram-negative organisms in adult patients with limited treatment options.