Ramucirumab

Summit Therapeutics licensed its PD-1xVEGF bispecific antibody ivonescimab from the Chinese company Akeso back in 2022. But analysts believe that the US biotech needs to find another, even bigger partner to bring the cancer drug to market. Any list of potential allies is unlikely to include Bristol Myers Squibb , Pfizer and Merck , which have all already paid big money for the rights to their respective VEGF bispecifics. So, which companies might buy into this area by snapping up the rights to ivonescimab? Endpoints News listened to several biopharma earnings calls and combed through AlphaSense transcripts to find some clues. A putative collaborator would likely already have a portfolio of cancer products. One goal of a partnership would be to combine ivonescimab with other mechanisms to create even more effective therapies. AstraZeneca has already been rumored as a potential licensee for Summit and Akeso’s drug, thanks to a Bloomberg report in early July. In a Tuesday note, analysts from TD Cowen wrote that such a deal could be worth up to $15 billion and would speed up ivonescimab’s development. AstraZeneca “would be viewed as an ideal partner” by Summit’s investors, they wrote. But AstraZeneca’s strategy in cancer does not seem to involve obtaining a VEGF bispecific, judging by recent comments from oncology chief Susan Galbraith. Galbraith named the company’s PD-1xTIGIT bispecific rilvegostomig and its PD-1xCTLA-4 antibody volrustomig as “the core components” of its bispecific portfolio. Rilvegostomig is being investigated with AstraZeneca’s antibody-drug conjugates, she said, and with Eli Lilly’s VEGF inhibitor Cyramza. “There are clearly some indications where VEGF mechanism of action has been shown over many years to have some added benefit, and we’re looking at that in combination with rilvegostomig,” Galbraith said. Since the UK pharma has a “deepening commitment” to rilvegostomig, it “further increases our skepticism” that the company would license a PD-(L)1xVEGF bispecific, Leerink analysts wrote last week. AbbVie could also be a potential partner on ivonescimab. Chief scientific officer Roopal Thakkar said last month that the company was monitoring the PD-(L)1xVEGF class. “There are several assets that are revealing data over time,” he told analysts during its earnings call, adding that “it is something that we’re interested in, and looking.” AbbVie, too, is interested in creating combinations of combinations. PD-(L)1xVEGF blockade could be added to its internal antibody-drug conjugate platform, Thakkar said. “If we see a partner asset that we can combine with in a variety of different indications, that is something that we would be interested in, for sure,” he said. Other pharma companies have been noncommittal about the field, declining to state an interest but certainly not ruling out a deal. “We obviously consult with our R&D colleagues who are following the space quite closely,” Tom Cavanaugh of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine said at Goldman Sachs’ healthcare conference in June. However, he added: “We do believe we might have some other immunotherapies in our pipeline that we’re more excited about and want to invest in.” Asked about PD-(L)1xVEGF bispecifics at the same meeting, Eli Lilly head of investor relations Michael Czapar said the company expects “to continue to be active in assessing the landscape.” And Teresa Graham, chief of Roche’s pharmaceuticals business, said on the company’s second-quarter call that “we look at thousands and thousands of deals a year. And certainly, oncology is a focus area, but we look at many different oncology mechanisms.” She declined to comment on specific molecular approaches. Several companies have already placed their bets, having rushed to license VEGF bispecifics in the wake of ivonescimab’s startling win over Merck’s Keytruda in May 2024. Bristol Myers bought into another advanced PD-(L)1xVEGF after ivonescimab, an antibody originated by Biotheus. That China-based biotech was bought out by its partner BioNTech, and in short order BioNTech signed up Bristol Myers as the new licensee for the asset, dubbed BNT327, in a deal worth $1.5 billion. Likewise, Pfizer and Merck appear all in on the candidates they have already backed in the VEGF bispecific race. Summit is still undecided on its filing plans for ivonescimab. When the drug’s global pivotal lung cancer trial HARMONi yielded mixed data in May, it said it would “consider the timing” of a BLA submission. On Tuesday, it reiterated that vague statement, disappointing investors. It is unclear whether the HARMONi data alone will be good enough for approval. Summit is short on cash , though a planned share offering could help. But what it really needs is a big pharma partner. The field is wide open.