Mirati to focus on drug combination study in low PDL1 lung cancer patients

Mirati Therapeutics

06/12/2022 13:24

** Mirati Therapeutics Inc  MRTX.O  on Monday said it will
focus on experimental drug adagrasib and Merck & Co Inc's
 MRK.N  immunotherapy Keytruda's combination study in low PDL1
lung cancer patients
        ** MRTX says early data suggest the combination therapy
helped about half of previously untreated metastatic lung cancer
patients, with manageable side effects 
    ** Co expects the largest advantage in patients with lower
levels of PDL1, the protein targeted by Keytruda, and plans to
launch a late-stage trial enrolling only those patients soon,
Mirati CEO David Meek told Reuters
    ** A preliminary analysis of 53 patients showed that 49% of
them had responded to the combination treatment - Co
    ** Analysts at B Riley see it highly unlikely for the
combination therapy to differentiate on the overall response
rate vs Keytruda plus chemotherapy
    ** "Given the lack of differentiation in top-line efficacy,
we anticipate near-term weakness in MRTX shares" - brokerage;
MRTX now down 17.9% at ~$76
    ** MRTX expects U.S. FDA's decision by Dec. 14 on its
application to sell adagrasib for advanced non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC) patients unresponsive to other drugs
    ** YTD, MRTX down 36.8%, as of last close
 (Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru)
 ((Pratik.Jain@thomsonreuters.com;))