On Friday, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Summit Therapeutics Inc. SMMT, citing shares as 67% undervalued.
The company’s lead candidate ivonescimab (SMT112) is an investigational, potentially first-in-class bispecific antibody combining the effects of immunotherapy via a blockade of PD-1 with the anti-angiogenesis effects associated with blocking VEGF into a single molecule.
Akeso Inc. engineered Ivonescimab, which is currently in multiple Phase 3 clinical trials. Over 2,300 patients have been treated with ivonescimab in clinical studies globally.
Analyst Eric Schmidt writes, “Simply put, should ivonescimab continue to deliver superior efficacy relative to a PD-(L)1 class ($50 billion and growing in 2024 sales), it could become one of the most successful drugs ever.”
Cantor analyst has initiated Summit Therapeutics with an Overweight rating.
Cantor writes that ivonescimab is effective and safe, standing out from single-antibody combinations due to its unique cooperative binding mechanism. While other VEGF x PD-(L)1 bispecific drugs might share some similarities, ivonescimab has a significant head start and could launch in the U.S. by late 2026.
In September, Summit Therapeutics released data from the primary analysis of the Phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial of ivonescimab conducted in China.
Ivonescimab monotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the trial’s primary endpoint, progression-free survival, compared to monotherapy Merck & Co Inc’s MRK Keytruda (pembrolizumab), achieving a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.51.
Cantor writes that progression-free survival is likely to translate into improved overall survival, with data anticipated by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
“Growing conviction in HARMONi-2 should enhance investor optimism for Summit’s three ongoing Phase 3 trials in NSCLC with readouts expected in 2025-2028,” analyst Schmidt writes.
Cantor notes that ivonescimab could achieve around 50% share in the over $100 billion market for VEGF x PD-(L)1s.
Price Action: Summit Therapeutics stock is up 3.44% at $20.43 at the last check Monday.
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