Adam Feuerstein , 2025-05-15 10:30:00
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Summit Therapeutics’ China vs. U.S. data showdown
Dare I call it the most important study readout coming this summer? I’m referring to the pending announcement of the first clinical data from Summit Therapeutics and its buzzy PD-1-VEGF antibody ivonescimab derived from lung cancer patients in the U.S. and other Western countries.
At $17 billion, Summit is the most valuable development-stage biotech in the U.S. despite having no clinical data of its own. That’s an odd superlative to pin on a company, but ivonescimab is an unusual drug. It was invented by the Chinese drugmaker Akeso, and all the data presented to date — including evidence suggesting it may dethrone Merck’s Keytruda as the dominant cancer immunotherapy — have been generated from studies conducted by Akeso in China.
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