ArriVent's cancer pill fails to meaningfully delay disease progression, shares dive
AVBP•ArriVent BioPharma said firmonertinib did not significantly delay disease progression in a late-stage lung cancer trial. Median progression-free survival was 11 months with the drug versus 9.5 months with chemotherapy, and shares fell nearly 60% in morning trading.
1. Trial results
The trial tested firmonertinib in previously untreated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and an EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation. Independent reviewers assessed median progression-free survival at 11 months for the 240-milligram dose, compared with 9.5 months for chemotherapy.
2. Company response
CEO Bing Yao said the improvement was not “meaningful” and called the results disappointing. ArriVent said it was evaluating the full dataset to determine the therapy’s development path and that the trial identified no new safety signals.
3. Other development
BTIG analyst Jeet Mukherjee said the control arm exceeded expectations, while firmonertinib’s result was in line with expectations. The drug is also in a late-stage trial for NSCLC patients with uncommon EGFR PACC mutations and is approved in China for patients with certain mutations.
