Akeso's Cancer Drug Ivonescimab Shows Promise in Lung Cancer Treatment

A Chinese biotech company Akeso has announced promising results for its cancer drug ivonescimab in treating non-small cell lung cancer. In a trial involving patients from China, ivonescimab showed that it helped people with lung cancer live longer after treatment compared to Merck's blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda.

The trial, which was conducted by Akeso and its US-based licensee Summit Therapeutics, found that ivonescimab reduced the relative risk of death by around 24% in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The results were reported on Thursday and have sparked interest among investors, with shares of Summit rising as much as 14% in morning trading.

The trial's findings are significant because they suggest that ivonescimab could become a future backbone of non-small cell lung cancer care. Dual-acting antibody drugs like ivonescimab are on the cusp of reshaping lung cancer treatment paradigms, and this study's results hint at the drug's potential to outperform Keytruda in head-to-head trials.

The FDA will want to see outcomes from a global trial in this setting before approving ivonescimab for use. Those results are expected in 2028, but Thursday's data build confidence that a separate trial could show ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy outperforming Keytruda and chemo.