Merus Reveals New Data From Zeno Program in NRG1 Fusion Cancers

Eli Lilly & Co’s LLY R&D partner Merus N.V. MRUS have revealed some new data at ASCO21 for an in-house program, zenocutuzumab (Zeno), in patients with NRG1+ cancers.
As of April 13 cutoff date, Zeno induced partial responses in 13 of 45 patients, with an overall response rate of 29%.
Merus is evaluating the candidate in a single-arm Phase 1/2 study with 61 enrolled patients.
Notably, 12 of the evaluable patients came into the trial with NRG1 positive pancreatic cancer, with five seeing confirmed partial responses.
Merus also looked at patients with NRG1 positive non-small cell lung cancer, observing that six of 24 such patients achieved partial responses by the cutoff.
The biotech noted that a seventh patient here reached partial response after the cutoff date as well.
Nine other patients with other undisclosed NRG1 positive cancers reached the evaluable stage by April 13, with two hitting a partial response.
In January, Lilly paid $40 million in upfront cash and $20 million in an equity stake to co-develop three bispecific antibodies looking to engage the CD3 antigen on T cells.
Each program could net up to $540 million in development and sales, bringing the deal’s total value north of $1.6 billion.
Price Action: MRUS shares are up 6.35% at $21.27 during the market session on the last check Friday.