What happened
Shares of ImmunoGen (IMGN) closed Monday trading up 15.7%. The drugmaker reported first-quarter results on Friday that missed analysts' expectations, which sent shares into a slump. However, investors shrugged those results off Monday, and apparently focused instead on the potential for the company's lead candidate, mirvetuximab soravtansine.
So what
Quarterly results really don't matter that much for small biotechs like ImmunoGen. Its revenues primarily come from the royalties it receives from Roche from sales of breast cancer drug Kadcyla. But those royalties totaled only $13.3 million in the first quarter.
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What's more important for ImmunoGen is its pipeline progress. On that front, the drugmaker remains on track despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It initiated a pivotal late-stage study in the first quarter evaluating mirvetuximab as a treatment for ovarian cancer. It's also moving along with clinical trials of the drug in combination with other therapies.
CEO Mark Enyedy said in the company's Q1 conference call on Friday that ImmunoGen has plenty of inventory on hand to finish all of the ongoing clinical studies that include mirvetuximab. He also stated that the company has ample inventory to complete its phase 2 clinical studies evaluating IMGN532 and to conduct planned a planned phase 1 study for IMGC936. This was reassuring since some drugmakers have experienced supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Now what
The main things to watch with ImmunoGen are its upcoming presentations at scientific meetings, including one this month from a phase 2 study evaluating a combination of mirvetuximab and Avastin. In addition, the company plans to file for approval to begin a clinical study of IMGC936 by the end of the second quarter.
Good news from the Soraya late-stage study of mirvetuximab is the big catalyst for the biotech stock that investors are anxiously awaiting. However, it will be more than a year before the primary portion of that study wraps up.
