Oppenheimer surprised by ‘hasty’ decision to cull frontline Vepdeg development

Oppenheimer says the firm was surprised by the announcement that Arvinas (ARVN) and partner Pfizer (PFE) were culling development of Vepdegestrant in frontline HR-positive breast cancer, effectively shuttering two planned Phase 3 trials after abandoning VERITAC-3 in January. Management said the decision was informed by Vepdeg’s performance in VERITAC-2, particularly its lackluster efficacy in ESR1-wt patients. The firm thinks the decision appears hasty ahead of persevERA’s highlyanticipated readout, which could show that oral SERDs can work in the frontline-“unless of course Arvinas’ management isn’t telling us the whole story.” Oppenheimer reiterates a Perform rating on Arvinas.