BUZZ-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,

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru)

((tharuniyaa@thomsonreuters.com))