AEterna downgraded as delay seen for key treatment

(In U.S. dollars unless noted)

TORONTO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ren Benjamin lowered his stock price target for Canadian biotech firm AEterna Zentaris (AEZ.TO) by 25 percent on Wednesday, citing a delay of about a year in getting its treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to the U.S. market.

Benjamin dropped the stock's 12-month target price to $6 a share from his previous target of $8, but maintained the "market outperform/speculative risk" rating.

The stock was down 5 Canadian cents, or 2.1 percent, at C$2.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning, and off 2 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $2.30 on Nasdaq.

The company said during a conference call on Tuesday that it expects to launch Cetrorelix, which is currently in Phase 3 trials, as a BPH treatment by mid-2011.

This was much later than the mid-2010 timetable that Benjamin had anticipated.

AEterna said the final filing of the treatment would be dependent on the completion of two carcinogenicity studies, which assess the potential for carcinogenetic effects of all products intended for chronic human consumption.

The company said the key U.S. Phase 3 trial is progressing with patient enrollment expected to be reported by the first quarter of 2008.

AEterna sees Cetrorelix as its flagship product both for the treatment of BPH and an endometriosis treatment. Endometriosis is a condition in which endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus, grows outside the uterus.

($1=$1 Canadian)