April 14 Quick Takes: Merus’ bispecific continues to impress at AACR

Petosemtamab (MCLA-158), a bispecific antibody from Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) targeting EGFR and LGR5, delivered new data in advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting. In an abstract released Friday, the investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) in a Phase I/II study was 35.7% among 42 patients who received a median of two lines of prior systemic therapy at the data cutoff of Nov. 28. The 15 responses included one complete response, ongoing after 18 months; 12 partial responses; and two unconfirmed partial responses. Median progression-free survival was 5 months (95% CI, 3.2-6.8). Merus’ oral presentation on Monday is to include more recent data with a later cutoff date. The biotech’s shares have moved higher going into AACR, with a year-to-date gain of 39% through Friday. The stock rose 11% Friday to close at $21.75.

An abstract released ahead of this weekend’s American Association of Cancer Research meeting showed that pan-RAF inhibitor exarafenib (KIN-2787) from Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:KNTE) led to six partial responses among 34 evaluable patients with Class I, II or III BRAF-altered solid tumors or NRAS-mutant melanoma in a Phase I study, for an objective response rate of 17.6%. Although Kinnate’s shares were down 18% on Friday afternoon, they still trade above the company’s share price when it announced the AACR presentation on March 14...