AstraZeneca's Tagrisso-Chemo Combo Data In Lung Cancer Sets High Bar For Johnson & Johnson's Cancer Drug: Analyst

On Sunday night, AstraZeneca Plc AZN presented the Phase 3 FLAURA2 results evaluating Tagrisso plus chemotherapy versus Tagrisso monotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with EGFR mutant lung cancer. 

The combination resulted in a significant benefit in progression-free survival (PFS), with roughly a 9-month absolute improvement in median PFS and a hazard ratio of 0.62.

William Blair writes that the results raise the efficacy bar for Johnson & Johnson's JNJ MARIPOSA Phase 3 trial evaluating Rybrevant plus lazertinib, expected later this year.

The analyst, Matt Phipps, further highlights that the absence of clear trends in overall survival and increased chemotherapy-related toxicity does not imply that the FLAURA2 regimen will promptly establish itself as the standard of care, a viewpoint also shared by AstraZeneca. 

Genmab A/S GMAB (Market Perform rating) receives royalties on Rybrevant sales (at a rate of 8% to 10%), and any clinical developments with Rybrevant can provide insights into the potential development trajectory and market prospects for Merus N.V.'s MRUS (Outperform rating) MCLA-129.

For Genmab, the analyst anticipates peak Rybrevant sales approaching $1 billion by 2027, with Genmab receiving royalties of DKK 600K. The projection encompasses the anticipated growth in the Exon20 mutation patient population. 

Additionally, the potential expansion of Rybrevant's market to encompass frontline EGFR mutant lung cancer patients could significantly surpass our current peak sales estimate by a substantial margin.

As for Merus, William Blair believes the company stands to benefit significantly from the successful development of petosemtamab alone and awaits updates from the expansion cohorts of the clinical trial later this year. 

Price Action: AZN shares are down 2.54% at $66.49 on the last check Monday.