Idenix Pharmaceuticals initiated with "buy"

12/05/06 - Morgan Joseph & Co

NEW YORK, December 5 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Morgan Joseph initiate coverage of Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (IDIX) with a "buy" rating. The 12-month target price is set to $13.

In a research note published yesterday, the analysts mention that available data for the NM283 drug indicates that the efficacy of the smaller dose is the same as that of the higher dose and the side effects are eliminated with the smaller dose. Idenix Pharmaceuticals' recently approved telbivudine drug for Hepatitis B is likely to have a higher-than-expected market opportunity and capture market share from two competing and widely prescribed drugs, Glaxo’s Epivir HBV and Gilead’s Hepsera, the analysts say.