Summit Therapeutics 'Unique Investment In Oncology,' Lead Drug Candidate Shows Promise Over Keytruda And Opdivo

Company Overview - Summit Therapeutics Inc initially focused on infectious diseases but pivoted to oncology in 2022 [1] - The company in-licensed ivonescimab (PD-1 X VEGF bispecific) from Akeso for $500 million upfront and $5 billion in potential milestones [1] - JMP Securities initiated coverage on Summit Therapeutics with a Market Outperform rating and a price target of $32 [2] Clinical Data and Potential - Ivonescimab demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.51 compared to pembrolizumab in the Phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial [2] - The overall survival data for ivonescimab is still in progress but has a strong chance of showing an advantage over pembrolizumab in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [3] - Summit Therapeutics is positioned to potentially commercialize its treatment in the more targeted EGFRm and first-line NSCLC patient groups [3] Market Opportunity - If successful, ivonescimab could lead to an estimated $17.9 billion in peak global revenue upon potential entry into the first-line NSCLC market by 2034 [4] - The company's stock price increased by 5.33% to $20.00 following the news [4] Competitive Landscape - Despite the success of Merck & Co's Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo, ivonescimab is seen as a formidable opponent with higher response rates and longer median progression-free survival [1]