On Friday, Piper Sandler maintained its Overweight rating and $19.00 price target for Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) shares.
This decision follows the release of new data from a clinical trial involving the company's cancer treatment. The updated results were part of the abstracts released for the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.
The trial, known as COM-202, is investigating the use of lifileucel in combination with pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with melanoma who have not undergone prior treatment. The updated objective response rate (ORR) was 65%, with a complete response rate of 30% among the 23 evaluable patients.
These results significantly exceed the typical outcomes for PD-1 monotherapy, which has an ORR of approximately 30-35% and a complete response rate of about 5-10%.
The promising data from the COM-202 trial suggest a favorable outlook for the TILVANCE-301 trial, which serves as a confirmatory study for Iovance's treatment. The responses in the TILVANCE-301 trial have been durable, with most remaining ongoing at a median follow-up of nearly two years.
Despite the positive data, there is still some caution regarding the enrollment pace for the TILVANCE-301 trial. The timing for when an interim ORR update might be available remains uncertain due to these enrollment concerns.
Piper Sandler's commentary reflects a watchful optimism about the potential of Iovance's treatment based on the current data, while also acknowledging the challenges ahead in the trial's progression.
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