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Immune Design to Halt Cancer Vaccine Program, Shares Plunge
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Shares of Immune Design Corp. fell about 33.7% after the company announced that it will discontinue its CMB305 cancer vaccine program following a review of its portfolio. Year to date, shares of the company have dropped 52.6% compared with the industry’s decline of 4.1%.
Immune Design took this decision after an early analysis of the ongoing phase II study, that showed the combination of CMB305 and Roche AG’s (RHHBY - Free Report) Tecentriq (atezolizumab), demonstrated that it is not likely to show a survival benefit in relapsed synovial sarcoma patients. Thus, the company decided to discontinue the phase II SYNOVATE study. The company, however, will continue to look for external collaborations to explore the continued development of CMB305 in sarcoma.
The company also plans to focus on accelerating and expanding the development of its lymphoma therapy, G100. It intends to develop G100 in combination with Merck & Co., Inc.’s (MRK - Free Report) Keytruda in follicular lymphoma patients who have received three prior lines of systemic therapy. To speed up the enrollment process, Immune Design plans to use both an open investigational new drug (IND) and submit a new IND as requested by the FDA. The data from both INDs would be combined in a potential biologics license application (BLA) filing. The company will evaluate the clinical activity based on Objective Response Rate (ORR) in an open label setting.
The company stated that this restructuring will extend Immune Design’s cash runway into 2021.
The company also announced its plans to evaluate G100 in earlier-stage follicular lymphoma patients in combination with Rituxan. The company also intends to develop G100 in combination with other agents in both indolent and aggressive lymphomas that are known to express TLR4. It also aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the therapy in solid tumors, initially through supporting investigator-sponsored studies.
The news of discontinuing the CMB305 program raises concerns among the investors as none of the company’s pipeline candidates are in late-stage development. Consequently, this pushes away the prospects of any approved product in the company’s portfolio for several years.
Amgen’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $13.95 to $14.02 for 2018 and from $14.39 to $14.40 for 2019 in the past 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 4.29%. Share price of the company has increased 13.5% year to date.
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Immune Design to Halt Cancer Vaccine Program, Shares Plunge
Shares of Immune Design Corp. fell about 33.7% after the company announced that it will discontinue its CMB305 cancer vaccine program following a review of its portfolio. Year to date, shares of the company have dropped 52.6% compared with the industry’s decline of 4.1%.
Immune Design took this decision after an early analysis of the ongoing phase II study, that showed the combination of CMB305 and Roche AG’s (RHHBY - Free Report) Tecentriq (atezolizumab), demonstrated that it is not likely to show a survival benefit in relapsed synovial sarcoma patients. Thus, the company decided to discontinue the phase II SYNOVATE study. The company, however, will continue to look for external collaborations to explore the continued development of CMB305 in sarcoma.
The company also plans to focus on accelerating and expanding the development of its lymphoma therapy, G100. It intends to develop G100 in combination with Merck & Co., Inc.’s (MRK - Free Report) Keytruda in follicular lymphoma patients who have received three prior lines of systemic therapy. To speed up the enrollment process, Immune Design plans to use both an open investigational new drug (IND) and submit a new IND as requested by the FDA. The data from both INDs would be combined in a potential biologics license application (BLA) filing. The company will evaluate the clinical activity based on Objective Response Rate (ORR) in an open label setting.
The company stated that this restructuring will extend Immune Design’s cash runway into 2021.
The company also announced its plans to evaluate G100 in earlier-stage follicular lymphoma patients in combination with Rituxan. The company also intends to develop G100 in combination with other agents in both indolent and aggressive lymphomas that are known to express TLR4. It also aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the therapy in solid tumors, initially through supporting investigator-sponsored studies.
The news of discontinuing the CMB305 program raises concerns among the investors as none of the company’s pipeline candidates are in late-stage development. Consequently, this pushes away the prospects of any approved product in the company’s portfolio for several years.
Immune Design Corp. Price
Immune Design Corp. Price | Immune Design Corp. Quote
Zacks Rank and Stock to Consider
Immune Design currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A better-ranked stock in the biotech sector is Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Amgen’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $13.95 to $14.02 for 2018 and from $14.39 to $14.40 for 2019 in the past 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 4.29%. Share price of the company has increased 13.5% year to date.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>