Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS) FY Conference Transcript

Summary of Arcus Biosciences FY Conference Call Company Overview - Company: Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS) - Key Personnel: Jennifer Jarrett (COO), Richard Marcus (CCO), Peter Eaves (CFO) [1] Pipeline Programs and Progress - Arcus has three different programs and five Phase 3 studies, supported by financing from partners like Gilead, AstraZeneca, and Taiho [3] - The primary focus is on castatinopathy, a next-generation HIF2 inhibitor, which has shown promising data in multiple medical meetings [3][4] - Initial data for castatinopathy monotherapy showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 31% and a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 9.7 months, outperforming Merck's belzutifan, which had a 22% ORR and 5.6-month PFS [10][20] Market Opportunity - The market for castatinopathy in the G7 markets is estimated to be at least $2 billion for second-line treatment and $3 billion for first-line treatment [5][33] - The overall renal cell carcinoma (RCC) market is projected to grow from $10 billion to $13 billion in the coming years, driven by the introduction of HIF2 inhibitors [33] Study Designs and Comparisons - The PEAK1 Phase 3 trial is designed to evaluate castatinopathy plus cabozantinib against cabozantinib alone, with PFS as the primary endpoint [12][13] - Arcus believes that their study design is superior to Merck's LIGHTSPARK-11 trial due to the use of cabozantinib as the control arm and focusing solely on PFS [16] Efficacy and Safety - The combination of castatinopathy and cabozantinib has shown a 46% confirmed response rate in early data, with minimal overlapping toxicities [19][20] - The safety profile of the combination is favorable, with fatigue being the only significant overlapping toxicity observed [19] Collaboration with AstraZeneca - Arcus is collaborating with AstraZeneca on a Phase 1b/3 study evaluating castatinopathy with AstraZeneca's anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody, volrue [27][30] - AstraZeneca is operationalizing the study and covering 50% of the costs, making it a resource-efficient partnership [30] Future Data and Expectations - Additional monotherapy data is expected to reaffirm previous findings, with a focus on PFS metrics [25][26] - Data from the Phase 1b portion of the AstraZeneca collaboration is anticipated in the second half of next year [31] Competitive Landscape - The HIF2 inhibitor market is currently a two-horse race between Arcus's castatinopathy and Merck's belzutifan, contrasting with other cancer markets that have multiple competitors [33]