Summit Therapeutics stock rocketed again Thursday — adding to an 85% gain this week — after raising $235 million in a private placement.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said it sold more than 10.3 million shares for $22.70 each. Buyers included "leading biotech institutional and individual accredited investors." Several of the company's executives and board members also bought a collective 3.48 million shares.
The sale follows an important presentation earlier this week at the World Conference on Lung Cancer. Summit said its drug, ivonescimab, reduced the risk of progression or death by 49% compared to Merck's Keytruda in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
"The therapeutic plateau has been absolutely violated," an expert told Leerink Partners analysts, according to a recent client note.
Following the presentation Monday, Summit Therapeutics shares skyrocketed 56%, while Merck stock fell 2.1%. Summit shares added on another 20% on Tuesday, though they slipped more than 1% on Wednesday. In morning trades Thursday, Summit shot up 20.8% on Thursday, ending the regular session at 27.41.
Summit Therapeutics Tops Merck
The World Conference on Lung Cancer presentation is particularly important because it pits the Summit drug up against Keytruda, the standard of care for numerous cancers.
Keytruda works by binding to PD-1, a protein cancer cells use to hide from the immune system. By revealing those cells, the immune system can launch an attack. In comparison, ivonescimab works by targeting PD-1 and blocking a protein called VEGF. This prevents the formation of new blood vessels, cutting off the blood supply the cancer needs to grow.
Summit Therapeutics' approach has proved tricky in the past.
Some "combination have shown really impressive (progression-free survival) benefits over standard of care that didn't translate into (overall survival) benefit," Eliav Barr told Investor's Business Daily. Barr is the chief medical officer of Merck Research Laboratories. This is because toxicities tied to VEGF inhibition can build up over time.
Still, experts who spoke with Leerink Partners analysts said Summit's results topped expectations. The results build on the success the cancer field has seen with PD-1 blockers.
"When you give me that first slice of pizza, I am not sated. Rather, I am actually more excited about that second slice," one of them said. "We have spent close to a decade now trying to get that second slice of pizza without a lot of success, with far more failures. ... What's really exciting about this data is it is a dramatic change in that."
Top-Rated Biotech Stock
Summit Therapeutics stock started the year off trading under 3 a share. Today, it's approaching 30.
Shares have a perfect IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 99, which puts them in the top 1% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance. That has improved markedly from 33 a year ago, according to MarketSurge.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
