Nuvalent's niche lung cancer drug seeks to eclipse competitors | $NUVL
SUMMARY
New cancer treatments emerged during the last 30 years largely because of precision medicine. Starting with the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein in breast cancer, researchers identified aberrant genes and proteins which pinpointed cancer subtypes. For example, instead of a breast cancer diagnosis oncologists could identify HER2-positive breast cancer. In HER2 positive breast cancer, the patient is positive for the HER2 protein, a protein that makes cancer cells grow more rapidly. If the patient tests HER2 positive, certain drug regimens can be used. If negative, the specific drugs will not work in the patient.
Nuvalent, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVL) is advancing two drugs to treat specific forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): NVL-520 and NVL-655. NVL-520 is a ROS1 inhibitor aimed at the 1-2% of NSCLC patients who have a rearrangement in a gene named ROS1. NVL-655 targets the 5% of NSCLC patients in which the ALK gene is altered. The ALK rearrangement often appears in people who are younger and do not smoke (or are light smokers).
Nuvalent last year reported impressive phase I data from NVL-655. The drug produced an overall response rate (ORR) of 65% (11/17) in patients with baseline ALK resistance mutations and an ORR of 41% (12/29) in ALK patients who previously received the drug lorlatinib. The 29 evaluable patients included cases with compound resistance mutations. The company plans to report updated data from the phase I/II trial later this year.
Key catalysts
Updated data from the phase I/II trial of NVL-655 to treat ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Key catalyst dates
2H 2024
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