IMGN Up
Immunogen (IMGN) skyrocketed last week (~30%) after the company announced PhII clinical data on their lead compound, T-DM1 (Trastuzumab emtansine, collaboration w/ Genentech), in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. T-DM1 is Herceptin conjugated to IMGN's drug DM1 (emtansine). The drug is currently in a number of clinical trials, including two PhIII trials. The data released show a significant improvement in progression free survival (PFS) in the treatment arm vs. the control arm (trastuzumab + docetaxel) of the study. Preliminary data from this study were presented this past fall at ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) but the survival data and analysis were not available for presentation at that time.
This is good news for Genentech/Roche and very good news for IMGN. Approval of T-DM1 has the potential to significantly expand the lifetime of the Herceptin program and has the potential to further establish the field of antibody-drug conjugates (Targeted Antibody Payload - TAP - in Immunogen lingo). We recently shared our thoughts on Seattle Genetics (SGEN) and our belief in the potential (commercially and scientifically) of the company's 2nd-generation antibody technology. The same goes for IMGN. Naked antibodies have revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry and caused a paradigm shift in therapeutic strategies for cancer and other diesaes. However, antibodies conjugates are theoretically superior (and as more and more data are showing, including IMGN's, clinical superior) to nakeds. This is in large-part due to the potency and specificity of the drug-conjugates, which should result in better efficacy and safety profiles than traditional chemotherapies or naked antibodies. SGEN and IMGN are the leaders in this space and we anticipate the approval of a drug from either company will be good for both companies.
IMGN's current stock success is a nice comeback from last August's issues and FDA delays. IMGN enjoyed a nice uptrend over the last month before last week's jump and the stock is up about 100% since last year's low. Such a good performance over a few months can push some medium-term investors to take their profits. Although IMGN has a lot of potential, a consolidation could happen over the next week. The next step is to watch for additional data clinical data or updates and follow FDA approval, watching the stock pre-decision to check if an approval is priced in.
Disclosure: one of us owns stock in SGEN and in IMGN and we may add more.
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