ESMO 2023 – Merus gets a pre-meeting boost

Merus has long extolled the virtues of its HER2 x HER3-targeting bispecific zenocutuzumab, and now the project might finally be approaching the finish line. During a call yesterday to discuss zeno’s upcoming results at ESMO – among other things – Merus execs said that, by the first half of next year, the company should have all the data required to support filings in NRG1-positive non-small cell lung and pancreatic cancers. The other good news was that the ESMO abstracts showed response rates with zeno holding up against initial data presented at ASCO 2021. Merus had once hoped to file zeno in NRG1-positive patients regardless of tumour type in late 2022/early 2023, but a year ago the FDA asked for more data and advised Merus to focus on lung and pancreatic cancers. Yesterday the company, which is seeking a commercialisation partner for zeno, didn't rule out a future tumour-agnostic filing. One of the group’s main rivals in the tiny NRG1 fusion-driven cancer niche, Elevation Oncology, halted investment in its contender seribantumab early this year. Merus’s stock closed up 4% yesterday, and rose another 6% this morning, but investors might also have been tempted by the promise of its EGFR x LGR5 bispecific petosemtamab.

Merus’s evolving dataset with zenocutuzumab (Enrgy trial & Early Access Program) 

Note: *includes one CR; **includes one PR confirmed after cutoff date. Source: ESMO & ASCO.