Phase 2
An investigational cocktail was tied to a 0% overall response rate in patients with gastroesophageal cancer, but developers Agenus and MiNK Therapeutics aren’t giving up on the program just yet.
While Merck’s PD-1/VEGF asset appears to match the performance of Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab, the pharma’s Phase 1/2 readout in non-small cell lung cancer still leaves analysts with some questions moving into later-stage development.
Pivotal findings for the off-the-shelf cell therapy surpassed William Blair’s expectations and sent Allogene Therapeutics’ stock up more than 50% in pre-market trading Monday morning.
Darovasertib, in combination with crizotinib, more than doubled progression-free survival in a registrational trial, leading Truist analysts to declare a “best-in-class efficacy profile” for the PKC inhibitor.
Sanofi has faced questions about the potential of lunsekimig in eczema, with executives calling the clinical trial a “measured risk.”
PepGen’s lead candidate for myotonic dystrophy type 1 barely beat the placebo in a Phase 2 trial in terms of fixing incorrect gene splicing, but the biotech attributed the poor result to an outlier.
While tonlamarsen missed one of two co-primary endpoints, Kardigan says the drug has shown a clinically meaningful effect on blood pressure, supporting advancement into Phase 2b.
William Blair hailed a positive readout in cutaneous lupus erythematosus as a turning point for Biogen, while RBC Capital analysts called the results “another derisking step” for the company’s immunology and inflammation pipeline.
The lack of a dose-response effect could be due to the high number of dropouts in the higher-dose Winrevair arm and the relatively small study population, a discussant for Merck explained.
Beam is now in the strongest position of all companies advancing a genetic therapy for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, according to analysts at William Blair.
PRESS RELEASES