Summit’s pre-clinical data on its novel C. diff antibiotic, SMT19969, reinforces the potential of the antibiotic. C. diff infection is established as a major healthcare threat, with around 900,000 cases per annum in Europe and North America. Recurrent disease represents a key clinical issue with up to 30% of patients at risk of recurrent disease after the initial episode. SMT19969 has the potential to address this issue with its selective antibiotic profile and ability to leave the healthy gut microbiome unharmed. We recently looked at the potential upside of SMT19969 in our note, ‘Data milestone offers strong further upside potential’ on 17 September, illustrating an intrinsic value per share of 337p if SMT19969 successfully progresses to Phase III. We remain extremely upbeat about Summit’s future prospects and look forward to top-line data from the group’s Phase II proof of concept trial of SMT19969 in Q4 2015.
