ASCO25: Ivonescimab Dis-HARMONi, is it a Rabbit or a Duck?
Plus, new data from Pfizer’s $1.25B PD-1xVEGF and what all this says about Summit's lead in the highly competitive PD-1xVEGF space
Headed into Day 1 of ASCO, Summit Therapeutics, the leading player in the tightly contested PD-(L)1xVEGF space, reported topline data from its global P3 study, HARMONi, studying ivonescimab (Ivo) + chemo vs. chemo in mutant EGFR patients who have progressed after a third-generation EGFR inhibitor. While the headline reads as a win on PFS, it wasn’t enough to hide that Ivo barely missed on an interim OS readout, pushing back Summit’s plans to file these data for approval until the OS endpoint matures. More detailed data is expected at a future medical meeting.
The news came as a surprise to the oncology and investment world, as Summit’s stock price had been flying high for the last couple years, predominantly lifted by the amazing China-only data that has steadily trickled out from their partner, Akeso Bio. During the day it fell drastically, and is sitting at -30%, but is still up 67% over the last year.
If you look at the data and how it compares to its Chinese cousin, Harmoni-A, your belief as to whether the stock drop was an overreaction or warranted depends on what you want to see in the data. This is the classic duck/rabbit image. Depending on who is looking at it and what their bias is, you’ll be able to make a case for your preferred side.
