What happened
Shares of Nuvalent (NUVL 1.20%) are up 35.3% this week as of Thursday's close, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the company announced favorable data in a trial for a key lung cancer drug.
So what
In a press release Wednesday, the clinical-stage biopharma announced favorable preliminary safety and clinical-activity data from the phase 1 dose-escalation portion of its ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial of its NVL-655 cancer drug for patients with advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other solid tumors.
ALK stands for anaplastic lymphoma kinase, a gene that can lead to cancer when triggered. NVL-655 was designed to overcome challenges of emergent treatment resistance, brain metastases, and off-target central nervous system adverse events that could limit the use of currently available treatments.
Nuvalent says its data shows NVL-655 was well tolerated "and treatment-related adverse events were generally mild," with at least a partial response in 45% of ALK-positive NSCLC patients.
Now what
Chief medical officer Christopher Turner said management is "strongly encouraged" by the preliminary data, adding that the company will present an update to the data at a symposium later this month. Management will also hold a conference call the morning of Oct. 13.
To be clear, not all of Nuvalent's eggs are in the NVL-655 basket; the drug candidate is one of four programs in the company's pipeline -- though it's also one of only two treatments in that pipeline currently undergoing clinical trials. In any case, this is a big step in the right direction for Nuvalent, and the stock is understandably popping in response.
