Global Pharmaceutical Companies Need c-MET Inhibitors
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.co. -- Ed.
In the US$10bn market for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer treatment, the use of c-MET inhibitors is trending. In the blossoming c-MET market, Abion’s ABN401 is an attractive pipeline, for which the associated value should rise following 2021 ESMO e-Poster announcement and the start of US phase II trials.
EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer treatment market
Tagrisso, the preferred first-line treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, suffers from resistance development issues, for which the main cause is MET amplification. A major trend is now the strategy of co-administering c-MET inhibitors to resistant patients lacking alternatives. We note that, AstraZeneca (Tagrisso) and Janssen (Lazertinib), which both possess the third-generation EGFR TKi, are undergoing clinical trials with c-MET inhibitors for primary treatment as well as resistance to Tagrisso. A similar strategy is expected for third-generation EGFR TKi latecomers such as EQRx (almonertinib).
Global pharmaceutical companies need c-MET inhibitors
Following Novartis’s capmartinib last year, Merck’s KGaA tepotinib and AstraZeneca’s savolitinib (China) have received monotherapy approval this year. The c-MET inhibitor market is now blooming. And, although the market is not as large as the EGFR mutation market, the approval of MET mutation monotherapy is significant, and the value of related drugs should rise moving ahead with EGFR mutation non-small cell lung cancer combination therapy currently under development.
Research on MET mutations in various carcinomas, as well as lung cancer, is ongoing. The company’s c-MET inhibitor, ABN401, has been approved for phase II trials in the US, and its development speed is similar to those of the above three drugs, except with regard to exon 14 skipping. The value of ABN401 is expected to increase gradually moving ahead in a situation where demand from global pharmas looks guaranteed. We view Abion’s current market cap as representing significant undervaluation.
2021 ESMO e-Poster release starting; US phase II to kick off at yearend
On Sep 17, data for various solid cancer phase I trials conducted in Australia and Korea will be released as e-Posters for the 2021 ESMO. We note that excellent safety and tolerability data for Abion’s treatment were disclosed in its last abstract on Sep 13. There was no dose-dependent toxicity, and there were no grade 3 or higher drug-related adverse reactions. Superior safety data versus competing drugs in patients for whom there is no treatment alternative should be very attractive to future combination therapy partners.
Although the number of patients (carcinoma and biomarkers) for which data will be announced on the poster is to be rather limited, such data should give clear hints on the future direction of clinical development. Based on phase I data, a phase II clinical trial was approved by the US FDA in January, and the trial should kick off in the US around yearend.