Vor Bio jumps after TD Cowen initiates coverage with 'buy'

Shares of drug developer Vor Biopharma VOR.O up 5.6% at $16.72 premarket

Brokerage TD Cowen initiates coverage with "buy", citing strong data for VOR's lead autoimmune drug, telitacicept and differentiated dual mechanism

Telitacicept is being developed to treat Myasthenia Gravis, a muscle weakening disorder, and primary Sjögren's Disease, condition that causes dry eyes and mouth

Notes favorable safety profile and global late-stage trials, with topline data expected in 2027–28, brokerage said

Telitacicept is already approved in China for lupus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), and the company has filed for approval in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and Sjögren's disease

In China late-stage trial, telitacicept helped patients improve by 4.8 points more than placebo on a key scale, which the brokerage calls "best-in-disease efficacy among all approved agents and those in development to date"

Telitacicept is also "the only agent in development to have demonstrated a statistically significant improvement on ESSPRI," a key patient-reported outcome measure in Sjögren's disease - TD Cowen

TD Cowen models peak probability-adjusted global sales of $2.3 bln across gMG and Sjogren's by 2035

As of last close, VOR down 28.7% YTD,