Correvio Pharma has an 89 per cent upside, Mackie Research says

After a volatile year in 2018, specialty pharma company Correvio Pharma (Correvio Pharma Stock Quote, Chart TSX, NASDAQ:CORV) still has plenty of room to grow, says Mackie Research analyst André Uddin, who thinks that management’s just-announced successor at the CEO position will be a win for the company.

On Wednesday, Vancouver-based Correvio announced that current board member Mark HN Corrigan will succeed William Hunter as CEO, effective by the end of Q1 of 2019.

A seasoned veteran in the sector, Dr. Corrigan comes with 30 years of experience in R&D and regulatory affairs, having previously served as President and CEO of Zalicus, a pain and inflammation-focused biopharm company that merged with Epirus in July 2014.

Dr. Hunter said he has faith that Dr. Corrigan is the right person to get US FDA approval for the company’s anti-arrhythmic drug Brinavess, which received notice from the FDA this past June that it could resubmit its new drug application (NDA) for Brinavess.

“When I accepted the role of CEO in 2012, my top priorities were to build a commercial team to launch Brinavess in Europe and complete SPECTRUM, a very successful study that has now helped us move forward with the US FDA,” Hunter said in a press release. “Now that those objectives have been achieved, I am handing operations over to the person most qualified to take the important next steps of getting Brinavess approved and launched in the US. Having worked closely with Mark for several years as a member of our Board, I am confident that he is the right person to continue the strong momentum we have created.”

Uddin concurs, saying, “We believe Dr. Corrigan with his extensive experience in R&D should greatly assist in helping get Brinavess approved in the US.”

In a client update Wednesday, Uddin reiterated his “Speculative Buy” rating for CORV with the maintained target price of $4.70, representing a projected 12-month return of 89 per cent at the time of publication.

Correvio’s share price started 2018 at a five-year low but thanks to the NDA resubmission for Brinavess event, the stock finished up 63 per cent for the year.