The companies will collaborate on ivonescimab and combination trials with AstraZeneca’s Sone-Ve treatment.
AstraZeneca has invested $2bn (£1.5bn) in Summit Therapeutics to support development of the experimental cancer drug ivonescimab. The companies will conduct combination research and trials involving AstraZeneca’s Sone-Ve treatment, while retaining rights to their respective medicines.
AstraZeneca has invested two billion US dollars (£1.5 billion) in US pharmaceutical firm Summit Therapeutics as part of a joint venture to research cancer treatments.
The equity investment will help accelerate development of Summit’s experimental drug ivonescimab, which is designed to target specific proteins to attack cancer cells and stop them growing.
The companies will collaborate on ivonescimab and research how it could be combined with AstraZeneca treatments, including its sonesitatug vedotin drug, known as Sone-Ve. Trials in gastrointestinal cancer are due to begin imminently.
Under the agreement, each company will contribute its respective medicine to the planned combination trials and jointly contribute to trial costs. They will retain development and commercial rights to their respective medicines.
Summit’s shares rose by nearly a fifth after markets closed overnight in New York, while AstraZeneca’s shares were 2% higher in London on Tuesday morning.
Susan Galbraith, an executive vice president at AstraZeneca, said combining ivonescimab with the company’s antibody-drug conjugate portfolio, including Sone-Ve, could enable new treatment regimens for patients with cancer.
Dr Maky Zanganeh, president and co-chief executive of Summit Therapeutics, said the developments opened “an exciting new chapter” in the advancement of ivonescimab.
