Biotech firm Summit Therapeutics saw a massive surge in its stock price following positive news about its drug candidate to treat lung cancer. The shares of Summit Therapeutics more than tripled on Thursday, leading to a significant increase in the fortune of the company’s chairman and co-CEO, Robert Duggan, making him a billionaire overnight. The stock price increase was fueled by the announcement that the phase 3 trial of the drug candidate ivonescimab outperformed Merck’s blockbuster drug Keytruda in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
The surge in Summit’s stock price has made Duggan and his co-CEO Maky Zanganeh significantly wealthier, with Duggan’s net worth estimated at $7.5 billion and Zanganeh nearly $500 million. The positive results from the drug trial have generated a lot of investor interest in Summit Therapeutics, as it is rare for a drug to outperform a well-established medication like Keytruda in the field of cancer immunotherapy. The stock closed at $10.92 a share on Thursday, a significant increase from $2.93 the day before.
Summit Therapeutics licensed the experimental cancer drug ivonescimab from Akeso for $500 million upfront, with the potential for an additional $4.5 billion if certain milestones are met. The drug candidate combines cancer immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis in one molecule and is currently being tested in a phase 3 trial in China. The trial aims to measure the progression-free survival of patients taking ivonescimab versus Keytruda.
Duggan’s success with drug development began with Pharmacyclics, where he became CEO in 2008 and oversaw the development of the blockbuster treatment Imbruvica for B-cell cancers. Pharmacyclics was acquired by AbbVie in 2015 for $21 billion, making Duggan a billionaire. In 2020, Duggan purchased a majority stake in Summit Therapeutics and became CEO, pivoting the company’s focus to oncology. The decision to shift to oncology has proven successful with positive results from the ivonescimab trial.
While the interim analysis of the ivonescimab trial has shown promising results compared to Keytruda, there is still more data needed to confirm the drug candidate’s efficacy. The full data from the trial will be presented at a medical conference later this year. The positive news has sparked optimism among shareholders and patients, but the ultimate success of ivonescimab remains to be seen. The significant stock bump and potential success of the drug candidate highlight the importance of innovative research in the field of oncology and the potential for life-saving treatments for cancer patients.
