ASCO-GI – casdozokitug responses deepen

Final results from a phase 2 study of Coherus's anti-IL-27 MAb casdozokitug in first-line liver cancer have revealed two previous partially responding patients subsequently going into complete remission. This seems the most important detail from an update to this trial, which tests casdozokitug plus Avastin and Tecentriq, and whose results are being presented at this week's ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers symposium. The headline number, an ORR of 38% using Recist or 43% using modified Recist criteria, remains unchanged versus numbers presented at ASCO-GI a year ago. But the deepening of responses is intriguing, and was already evident from last year's swimmers plot, which showed three CRs; all three followed PRs at around 6-18 weeks after first dose, but the last CR wasn't noted until 43 weeks. The data are important for Coherus, whose stock has slumped 45% in 12 months, as well as for former holders of Surface Oncology, which originated casdozokitug and was acquired by Coherus in 2023. That deal carried a contingent value right, one aspect of which claims half the up-front fee received in any future ex-US casdozokitug deal. Last month Coherus put the molecule into an analogous phase 2 trial that substitutes its own toripalimab for Tecentriq.

Casdozokitug + Avastin + Tecentriq in first-line liver cancer (per Recist v1.1)

Source: ASCO & OncologyPipeline.