Smid-cap smorgasbord

While the biggest milestone of the second quarter came early and turned out to be a disappointment, investors still have plenty to look forward to in immuno-oncology. In addition, specialist investors’ current strategy of overweighting small- and mid-cap plays correlates with greater interest in a slew of milestones, with a particular focus on rare disease catalysts.

The negative news came early from Incyte Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc.’s Phase III ECHO-301 trial in first-line unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The combination of Incyte’s epacadostat with PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda pembrolizumab missed the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), leading the partners to stop the trial for futility...