Summit Therapeutics' Cancer Drug Outperforms Keytruda in China Study; Shares Up 227%

May 30, 2024, 10:06 PM

Summit Therapeutics' experimental cancer drug has outperformed Merck's Keytruda in a Phase 3 lung cancer study conducted in China. The study, which focused on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), showed that Summit's drug, developed in partnership with Akeso, met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS). This result led to a significant surge in Summit's shares, which rose by 227%, bringing its market cap to $5 billion. Despite the positive outcome, there are concerns about the study's relevance outside China, as the FDA does not recognize Chinese clinical trial data. The drug, which targets both PD-1 and VEGF, may require further comparative studies against Keytruda combined with chemotherapy to validate its efficacy. Bob Duggan's small biotech company has garnered significant attention with this bispecific drug.