Analysts at Bernstein called the survival data “a positive surprise,” framing it as Akeso’s biggest catalyst since the drug previously outperformed Merck’s top-selling cancer therapy.
Summit Therapeutics drew heavy retail interest on Tuesday after its partner, Akeso, reported that ivonescimab (AK112), a closely watched lung cancer drug, helped patients live longer in a key late-stage trial.
Akeso said the final analysis of the Phase III study in patients with EGFR-mutated, advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who had already failed EGFR-TKI therapy showed ivonescimab extended overall survival, meeting the trial’s main goal with a clear and meaningful benefit.
Detailed data will be presented at an upcoming medical conference.
The update came alongside Akeso’s first-half earnings and drove its Hong Kong-listed shares up as much as 5.92% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Summit, which holds U.S. rights to ivonescimab, rose as much as 14% Tuesday on the news.
While the drug is already approved in China, Summit is running a similar trial with a broader, global population to pave the way for an approval in the U.S.
Ivonescimab has already won two approved indications in China: for EGFR-mutated NSCLC after EGFR-TKI therapy, and as monotherapy for PD-L1-positive advanced NSCLC.
The drug has been included in clinical treatment guidelines, and Akeso has launched over 30 trials, including 13 Phase III studies and six head-to-head comparisons with PD-(L)1 therapies.
Bernstein analysts led by Rebecca Liang called the survival data “a positive surprise,” noting that whether the drug could extend overall survival “has been the center of debate for AK112 since last year,” Bloomberg reported.
They added it could be the biggest positive catalyst for Akeso since the company announced ivonescimab had outperformed Merck & Co.’s top-selling cancer drug in a separate trial.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ for Summit Therapeutics amid ‘extremely high’ message volume, while Akeso drew ‘bullish’ sentiment with ‘high’ activity.
One user speculated that Summit shares could reach $35 by the end of the week.
Another suggested the stock was still digesting the overall survival news and argued it should already be trading above $30.
While Summit’s stock has risen 51.2% so far in 2025, Akeso’s U.S.-listed shares have more than tripled over the same period.
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