Shares of Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT) surged about 20% premarket on Tuesday after AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN) said it was going to invest $2 billion in newly issued equity in Summit to speed up development of the American company’s cancer drug ivonescimab in combination with AstraZeneca’s cancer medicines.
Terms of the Deal
As part of the investment, AstraZeneca will buy about 109,000 shares of preferred stock in Summit, convertible into common stock at a 1:1,000 ratio. Once complete, AstraZeneca will hold rights equal to about 12% of Summit’s outstanding shares, or about 10.6% on a fully diluted basis. The companies expect the investment to close within a week.
Alongside the investment, the companies will test whether combining ivonescimab with Sone-Ve, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), a drug that delivers cancer-killing chemotherapy directly to tumor cells, works better together in gastrointestinal cancers. Each company keeps its own rights to develop and sell its own drug, according to a press release on Monday.
Ivonescimab is a bispecific antibody, meaning it targets two things at once, blocking a protein called PD-1 that helps cancer cells hide from the immune system, while also blocking VEGF, a protein that helps tumors grow new blood vessels.
Summit has exclusive rights to develop and sell ivonescimab in major regions outside China, while its partner Akeso Inc. retains rights in China and other regions.
Building on Earlier Trial Data
Summit and Akeso have reported multiple positive trial results for ivonescimab this year. In a Phase 3 trial comparing it to Merck & Co Inc.’s (NYSE: MRK) Keytruda in lung cancer, ivonescimab showed a statistically significant survival improvement. Separately, a global Phase 3 trial found ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy extended progression-free survival to 6.8 months, compared to 4.4 months for a placebo group, in a specific type of lung cancer.
Ivonescimab is approved in China for a type of lung cancer, while a Biologics License Application seeking U.S. approval in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer is under FDA review. The FDA had assigned a Nov. 14, 2026, action date for that application.
Price Action: Summit Therapeutics shares were up 20.77% at $18.70 during premarket trading Tuesday, while AstraZeneca shares were up 1.29% at $168.29, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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