Gilead Science (GILD) and Arcus Biological Sciences (RCUS) recorded another win for their cancer program on Monday, pushing GILD stock to a short-term 4-year high as RCUS stock edged higher.
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The companies revealed the fourth interim analysis from a study of their drug, domvanalimab, in patients with a common form of lung cancer. They are testing two combinations of drugs versus a standard treatment. Both regimens showed clinically significant improvements compared with the standard drug.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said in a note to clients that previous updates were “a bit hazy”. But this is clear, he added.
“We believe that the current (release), which includes 133 of the 150 patients enrolled with two or more scans, is now likely mature enough to show visible signs of activity,” he said. clear. Companies have moved their data presentation time to December 20th from early 2023 expectations.
In response, GILD stock rose as much as 2.2% initially, hitting its highest level since January 2018. But the stock closed down 1.2% at 85.21 on stock market today. On the other hand, RCUS stock rose 7.2% to 28.63.
GILD Stock: Outperform Combination
The companies are testing domvanalimab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and are looking at 133 patients who had been treated for at least 13 weeks prior. All patients underwent at least two scans that checked for the size of their tumors.
Both combinations using domvanalimab were superior to the standard drug, named zimberelimab. Zimberelimab is also an Arcus drug. It’s an immunotherapy that blocks a protein used by cancer cells to disguise themselves from the immune system.
Domvanalimab uses a new mechanism, binding to a receptor called TIGIT that cancer cells use to avoid detection by the immune system. When domvanalimab locks onto the receptor, it frees the immune system to destroy the target cells.
Abrahams, an analyst at RBC, has maintained an outperformance rating and an 87 price target on GILD stock.
He noted that there is a potential domvanalimab that could compete with Rocheof the (RHHBY) TIGIT-targeted drug, tiragolumab. Notably, Roche said in May that the tiragolumab combination could not prolong the time before patients got worse. Research is still ongoing.
To be successful, Gilead expects the drug to eventually achieve an overall response rate of 50%, which is 15% higher than the standard of care. So far, the drug appears to be safe, says Abrahams.
“Overall, we believe TIGIT remains the next high-profile catalyst for Gilead, as it can validate both their multibillion-dollar partnership with Arcus as well as the oncology mainstay. theirs,” he said.
RCUS stock spikes
Gilead moves into oncology helped the stock recover recently.
GILD stock has broken out of a disc base with one buy points at 74.22 on October 28, MarketSmith.com Shows. Almost immediately, they spiked out of 5% buy zone.
Stocks also have an almost perfect Relative Strength Rating out of 97 out of 99 the best possible. This puts them in the top 3% of all stocks in terms of 12-month performance, according to Digital IBD.
RCUS stock has an average RS Rating of 61, but the stock was up 13.5% early Monday.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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