Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include:

• Summit Therapeutics (SMMT), 438% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Summit Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical oncology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of patient-, physician-, caregiver- and societal-friendly medicinal therapies intended to improve quality of life, increase potential duration of life, and resolve serious unmet medical needs.

Recent news on these stocks:

May 30

Summit Therapeutics announced topline results from the Phase III clinical trial, HARMONi, the first global Phase III study evaluating ivonescimab, successfully met the progression-free survival primary endpoint and showed a positive trend in the other primary endpoint, overall survival. HARMONi is a multiregional, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, Phase III study sponsored by Summit evaluating ivonescimab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy compared to placebo plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated, locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who have progressed after treatment with a 3rd generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This is a clinical setting with a patient population where PD-1 monoclonal antibodies have previously been unsuccessful in Phase III global clinical trials in showing either a PFS or OS benefit. Approximately 38% of patients were randomized from western countries (ex-Asia), consistent with other recent multiregional Phase III studies in patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC. At the prespecified primary data analysis, ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival, with a hazard ratio of 0.52. PFS was measured by blinded independent central radiology review committee compared to placebo in combination with chemotherapy. A clinically meaningful hazard ratio was observed in both Asia and ex-Asia sub-populations. The primary analysis demonstrated the consistency of the magnitude of the PFS benefit between patients randomized in Asia and ex-Asia, as well as the consistency in a single-region study with this multiregional study. Ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy showed a positive trend in OS in the primary analysis without achieving a statistically significant benefit with a hazard ratio of 0.79. This trend provides further support for its use in 2L+ EGFRm NSCLC, a setting where high unmet need continues to exist with limited approved options in the United States and other western territories. There are no current FDA-approved regimens that have demonstrated a statistically significant overall survival benefit in this patient setting. The median follow-up time for western patients was less than the median overall survival at the time of the analysis, and these patients may continue to be followed for long-term outcomes. Both Asian and North American patients demonstrated a positive trend in overall survival. The results of the primary analysis in this multiregional study were consistent with that of the single-region HARMONi-A study, which demonstrated an overall survival hazard ratio of 0.80 at 52% data maturity in a similar patient population. There were no new safety signals noted in this Phase III study. Grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent adverse events were reported for 56.9% of patients in the ivonescimab + chemotherapy arm vs 50.0% with chemotherapy alone. Fatal TEAEs (excluding disease progression) were reported for 1.8% of patients in the ivonescimab + chemotherapy arm vs. 2.8% in those patients receiving chemotherapy alone. The safety profile of ivonescimab + chemotherapy was acceptable and manageable in the context of the observed clinical benefit.

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About “Biotech Alert”

The Fly will report on a selection of biotech stocks seeing a surge in interest from retail and financial professional investors, based on data from InvestingChannel.

This Fly exclusive recap reveals the biotech stocks that are seeing a spike in searches among the 20-plus million retail and financial professional investors through InvestingChannel’s online financial news media ecosystem.

This increased attention from the investors may be in response to, or advance of, outsized moves for stocks in the biotech sector, which tend to be volatile and prone to sharp swings in share price around binary events such as clinical study results and FDA approvals.