Stifel analyst Annabel Samimy reiterated a Buy rating and $33 price target on Evolus (EOLS), whose shares are "under pressure" following several Koreanpress reports regarding Allergan's (AGN) U.S. ITC case against Evolus. Samimy said that the reports stem from recently completed evidentiary hearings, from which all disclosures are still confidential, though this has not stopped the battle from playing out int he Korean press. The analyst said that Medytox has made various comments in their favor, possibly in an effort to manipulate an outcome. That said, Samimy noted that only the ITC judge can issue a ruling and all case facts will be considered, and there is no read through at this time. The analyst acknowledges the uncertainty, but remains supportive of Evolus' position and impressed with its commercial execution.

The company states: "Evolus announced that the Aesthetic Surgery Journal has published the safety and duration of effect results from the Phase 2 study of 40U Jeuveau(R) (prabotulinumtoxinA-xvfs) for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adult patients. The "extra-strength" glabellar line study is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, Phase 2 trial following 150 patients for up to 12 months or until the patient loses their correction. The study has three arms: Jeuveau(R) Extra-Strength 40U and two active controls, BOTOX(R) 20U and Jeuveau(R) 20U. Efficacy results demonstrated 26 weeks, or 6 months duration across the multiple metrics presented, including the time it took for patients to return to their baseline GLS score after their treatment, the duration of effect for a patient with at least a one-point GLS improvement, and the time it took a patient to return to their baseline using the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale. The safety profile was similar across all three arms and overall, 88.9% of adverse events were rated as mild and no serious adverse events were identified."