Akeso and Summit Therapeutics Poised to Shake Up Lung Cancer Treatment — But There’s a Catch
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in the US, with only 25% of patients surviving past five years. But there may soon be new hope for the ~238K Americans diagnosed each year. In a new China-based study, a drug called ivonescimab has shown significantly better results than current treatments. Already approved in China, ivonescimab’s creators — Akeso in China and Summit Therapeutics in the US — are now targeting the international arena.
- Ivonescimab reduced the risk of disease progression by 49% compared to the current standard of care, Merck’s Keytruda — and more than doubled the median time without tumor progression to 11 months.
- This could mark a major step forward in treating non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type, with global clinical trials potentially bringing the drug to the US and Europe in the next few years.
Unlocking the market: If ivonescimab’s promising results replicate outside of Mainland China, it could be a game-changer for both Akeso and Summit — and a disruptor for Keytruda, which brought in over $25B in sales in 2023, up 19% year-over-year. However, Akeso and Summit will still need to navigate international regulatory hurdles before bringing ivonescimab to the global market, which could take several years. The big question for the pharma world: Will these two mid-sized biotech firms go it alone or sell to a bigger name?
