What happened
Shares of ALX Oncology (ALXO -0.06%) had skyrocketed by 53% as of 11:10 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The huge gain came after the immuno-oncology company announced positive interim results from a phase 2 study evaluating evorpacept in combination with trastuzuma, Cyramza, and paclitaxel for treating HER2-positive gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer.
So what
Just how positive were those interim results? ALX Oncology said that the combination therapy including evorpacept demonstrated a confirmed overall response rate (ORR) -- the percentage of patients with partial or complete response to therapy -- of 52%. By comparison, the control group receiving the combination of trastuzumab, Cyramza, and paclitaxel without evorpacept had an ORR of 22%.
ALX also stated that the median duration of response for the control group was 7.4 months. However, the median duration of response for the evorpacept combo group hasn't yet been reached. That's another encouraging sign about evorpacept's efficacy.
Sometimes such good news is overshadowed by safety concerns, but not in this case. ALX said that the evorpacept combo was "well-tolerated" by patients in the clinical study with an overall safety profile consistent with previous trials.
Now what
ALX Oncology Chief Medical Officer Sophia Randolph said in the press release announcing the interim results that the company plans to report the final analysis from the phase 2 study in the second quarter of 2024. It also intends to move forward with the phase 3 part of the study late next year.
The cancer stock could have another catalyst before then, though. Results from an investigator-sponsored study of evorpacept in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide in treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma are expected in the first half of 2024.