Ideaya Biosciences presented promising results Monday for a drug that tackles hard-to-treat cancers. The biotech stock retook its 50-day moving average.
Ideaya is working on a treatment for cancers with an MTAP deletion. There are no treatments in the U.S. for the roughly 48,000 patients with bladder and lung cancers driven by this genetic alteration.
In a midstage test, 39% of patients responded to Ideaya's treatment, dubbed IDE397. That included one patient with a complete response — meaning there was no evidence of the tumor in the body — and six patients with partial responses.
Mizuho Securities analyst Graig Suvannavejh estimates a peak of $1.2 billion in sales for Ideaya Biosciences in MTAP-deleted cancers. He initiated coverage of the biotech stock on Monday with a buy rating.
On today's stock market, Ideaya stock surged 15.3% to 39.51. Shares topped their 50-day line, according to MarketSurge. With a few exceptions, shares have mostly traded below that key mark since late March.
Biotech Stock: Limited Side Effects
According to The Cancer Genome Atlas, MTAP deletions are present in more than 15% of non small-cell lung cancers and north of 25% of bladder cancers. Yet, Ideaya notes there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for patients with solid tumors tied to this genetic alteration.
Overall, researchers deemed 94% of patients had their disease under control following treatment with IDE397. More than three-quarters of patients, 78%, experienced tumor shrinkage and 81% had a molecular response — or a reduction in DNA associated with the tumor.
Promisingly for the biotech stock, there were no drug-related serious side effects or discontinuations. This bodes well for combinations. Ideaya is testing IDE397 in combination with drugs from Amgen and Gilead Sciences.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
