[Featured Stock] Abion, Global Pharma Companies Needing c-MET Inhibitors... US FDA Phase 2 Clinical Trial to Start Within the Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] ABION continues its strong performance for the second consecutive day following yesterday. Securities firms' analysis that the company possesses an attractive candidate pipeline in the hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-MET) inhibitor market appears to have influenced the stock price.

As of 1:54 PM on the 15th, ABION is trading at 25,950 KRW, up 20.98% from the previous day. It closed up 11.72% yesterday, continuing its sharp rise for two days in a row.

Yesterday, NH Investment & Securities analyzed that ABION holds an attractive pipeline in the c-MET inhibitor market, and its value is expected to grow steadily. However, they did not provide an investment opinion or target price.

The core pipeline ABION is developing is the c-MET targeted anticancer drug ‘ABN401’. It received FDA approval for Phase 2 clinical trials in January.

Recently, 'MET' has been identified as a cause of resistance to Tagrisso, the first-line treatment for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Tagrisso was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2018 as a first-line treatment for metastatic NSCLC with EGFR mutations. In 2019, the NCCN guidelines changed Tagrisso from a second-line treatment to a preferred first-line treatment. Tagrisso is expected to capture over 90% market share in metastatic NSCLC and achieved sales of $4.33 billion in 2019. Researcher Byungguk Park of NH Investment & Securities explained, "By 2026, it is expected to generate sales of $9.51 billion," adding, "Due to the nature of targeted therapies, resistance is inevitable." However, he noted, "The problem is that after resistance to Tagrisso develops, there is no drug yet recognized as a standard treatment," and "treatment is currently conducted depending on clinical circumstances."

Researcher Park analyzed, "AstraZeneca (Tagrisso) and Janssen (Rybrevant), which possess third-generation EGFR TKIs, are conducting combination clinical trials with c-MET inhibitors not only for Tagrisso resistance but also for first-line treatment purposes," and "latecomers like EQRx (Almonertinib) are expected to pursue similar strategies."

Starting with Novartis’s ‘Capmatinib’ last year, this year Germany’s Merck’s ‘Tepotinib’ and AstraZeneca’s ‘Savolitinib’ have been approved as monotherapies, marking the opening of the c-MET inhibitor market. Researcher Park said, “Although the market size is not as large as the EGFR mutation market, the approval of MET mutation monotherapy is significant,” adding, “The value of drugs due to combination therapies for EGFR mutant NSCLC currently under development will increase further.”

In addition to lung cancer, research on MET mutations is being conducted in various cancer types. Researcher Park assessed, "The development speed of ABN401 is similar to that of Capmatinib, Tepotinib, and Savolitinib," and "In a situation where global pharmaceutical companies inevitably need it, the value of ABN401 will continue to rise."

ABION will disclose Phase 1 results for solid tumors at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference starting on the 17th. The company plans to begin Phase 2 trials around the end of the year.

Researcher Park stated, "On the 13th, through an abstract, we revealed excellent safety and tolerability with no dose-dependent toxicity or drug-related adverse events of grade 3 or higher," adding, "Superior safety compared to competing drugs was confirmed in patients with no treatment alternatives, making it attractive to future combination therapy partners."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.