What happened
Shares of ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN) were up by 139% Wednesday morning after the company announced positive trial data concerning an ovarian cancer drug the company has in its pipeline. The biotech stock is up more than 151% this year.
So what
ImmunoGen specializes in antibody-drug conjugates to fight cancer. On Wednesday, the company announced that its lead therapy candidate, Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine), fared well in its phase 3 confirmatory trial, compared to platinum-based chemotherapy, to treat patients with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who have received prior chemotherapy. ImmunoGen said it now plans to submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) in the U.S., as well as a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) in Europe, for full approval for the drug, which received accelerated approval to treat advanced ovarian cancer last November. One key data point from the trial was that Elahere's objective response rate (ORR) was 42.3% with 12 complete responses, compared to a 15.9% ORR with no complete responses for study participants who had platinum-based chemotherapy.
Now what
If Elhaere receives full approval, that will accelerate sales from the company's first independently developed therapy. In the first quarter, ending March 31, the company reported revenue of $49.9 million, $29.5 million of which was from Elahere sales in its first full quarter since its launch. The company lost $41 million. Elahere's sales could be the engine that helps the company develop the rest of its pipeline, which includes three other oncology therapies: pivekimab sunirine; IMGC936; and IMGN151. The stock had already risen last week after the company announced first-quarter earnings and 2023 guidance to say it expected to make between $45 million and $50 million this year in revenue, even without Elahere revenue. The drug has a big potential target market as the American Cancer Society estimates that 19,710 women will be diagnosed with the disease this year in the U.S. and 13,270 U.S. women will die from the disease in 2023.
