c-Met overexpression

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Can New Cancer Drug Emrelis Drive AbbVie's Oncology Franchise?
ZACKSยท 2025-06-06 14:15
Core Insights - AbbVie has received FDA approval for Emrelis, marking a significant advancement in its oncology franchise, specifically for treating non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high c-Met overexpression [1][2] Group 1: Product Development and Market Position - Emrelis is AbbVie's first internally developed solid tumor drug and its first lung cancer therapy, providing a unique advantage as the only approved treatment for this patient population [2][8] - c-Met overexpression is present in 25% of advanced EGFR wild-type NSCLC patients, with approximately half of these patients exhibiting high c-Met overexpression, which is associated with poor prognosis [2] - AbbVie anticipates starting to record sales for Emrelis in Q3 2025, with estimated sales of $28 million for the current year [3] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - While AbbVie has a first-mover advantage with Emrelis, competitors like AstraZeneca and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals are also developing drugs targeting similar indications [4][8] - Regeneron is conducting mid-stage studies for its investigational ADC, davutamig, which targets two distinct MET epitopes [5] - AstraZeneca is in phase I studies for its investigational ADC, AZD9592, aimed at c-MET-driven solid tumors, although it currently lags behind AbbVie in this specific indication [6] Group 3: Financial Performance and Valuation - AbbVie shares have outperformed the industry year to date, reflecting positive market sentiment [7] - The company's shares trade at a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.37, slightly below the industry average of 14.95, but higher than many other large drugmakers [10] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AbbVie's 2025 earnings has slightly decreased from $12.30 to $12.28 per share, while the estimate for 2026 has increased from $13.97 to $14.05 [11]