Summit Shares Jump as Lung Cancer Drug Shows 15% Higher Survival Rate
Summary
Summit Therapeutics' ivonescimab, developed with Akeso, demonstrated a 15% higher survival rate in a late-stage trial for advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer patients in China. Patients receiving ivonescimab lived an average of 27.9 months compared to 23.7 months for a rival drug. This follows the company's Q1 earnings report from April 30th and represents a significant clinical advancement for a drug in a setting where other treatments have struggled. Summit holds rights for this drug in key markets including the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan, under a deal potentially worth up to $5 billion. A separate global trial comparing ivonescimab to Merck's Keytruda is expected to yield interim data later this year.
At the time of this announcement, SMMT was trading at $18.20 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $13.6B. The 52-week trading range was $13.83 to $30.98. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: Reuters.