As previously reported, Guggenheim upgraded Regeneron (REGN) to Buy from Neutral as analyst Yatin Suneja noted that Eylea has maintained its dominance in the branded anti-VEGF retinal disease market despite "stiff branded competition" from Roche's (RHHBY) Lucentis and off-label use of Roche's Avastin. Eylea's expansion into new indications has resulted in a diversified business and defensible market position, argued Suneja, who also believes the Street is substantially under-appreciating the market opportunity for Dupixent, which is expected to drive significant leverage in the Sanofi (SNY) antibody collaboration that recently became profitable. Suneja raised the price target on Regeneron shares to $403 from $355.

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Alecensa for adjuvant treatment following tumor resection for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer, as detected by an FDA-approved test. Alecensa is now the first and only ALK inhibitor approved for people with ALK-positive early-stage NSCLC who have undergone surgery to remove their tumor. "With an unprecedented 76% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death versus chemotherapy, Alecensa significantly improves upon the standard of care for people with early-stage ALK-positive lung cancer," said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. "At Genentech, our goal is to give patients the best chance of cure by bringing effective, targeted treatments to early-stage disease before their cancer has spread. This approval brings us one step closer to achieving that mission."

After IGM Biosciences (IGMS) announced that the company's exclusive worldwide collaboration agreement with Sanofi (SNY) to create and develop IgM agonist antibodies will now focus exclusively on immunology and inflammation targets, Stifel analyst Stephen Willey said the firm believes the re-focusing of the collaboration away from oncology and exclusively to the three, yet-to-be-disclosed IAI targets "removes some longer-term economic optionality," but ultimately doesn't change the firm's thesis on the stock. The firm, which adds that Sanofi's decision aligns with its continued prioritization of IAI development opportunities and doesn't reflect anything aplitabart-related and notes that IGM now regains full control of these oncology programs and could potentially re-monetize these assets via future partnerships, would be buyers on related weakness. Stifel has a Buy rating and $25 price target on IGM Biosciences shares.