China’s Akeso gets share boost as data shows cancer drug’s benefits

Shares of Chinese drug firm Akeso – likened by some Western media outlets to artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek – rose after the company unveiled clinical-trial data showing that its lung-cancer drug outperformed a highly effective existing treatment.

The data showed that ivonescimab had “a decisive and strong positive outcome with both significant and clinically meaningful benefits”, Akeso said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday. The drug, used along with chemotherapy, “substantially extended” survival for patients with squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, compared with rival BeOne Medicine’s tislelizumab plus chemotherapy, it said.

BeOne launched tislelizumab in late 2019 after receiving initial approval in China. Approved in the European Union in 2023 and in the US last year, the drug recorded US$1.74 billion in sales in the first half. BeOne has most of its operations in China and the US.

Akeso’s trial data was presented by Lu Shen, director of oncology at Shanghai Chest Hospital, at the European Society For Medical Oncology presidential symposium in Berlin. It was also published in peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet.

“Strong subgroup and safety data highlight ivonescimab’s clear edge, with lower toxicity and zero discontinuation,” Cui Cui, head of healthcare research for Asia at Jefferies, said in a note on Monday. “Backed by Akeso’s broad combination [therapy] strategy, it is shaping up as the most advanced and differentiated PD-1/VEGF asset – potentially two to three years ahead of competitors.”

PD-1/VEGF refers to the combination of two proven cancer-fighting strategies, aimed at creating a more potent and longer-lasting anti-tumour response. It works by restoring immune cells’ ability to recognise and attack cancer cells while also blocking the formation of new blood vessels in tumours.

Akeso’s Hong Kong-listed shares gained as much as 4.6 per cent soon after the market opened on Monday but lost 2.7 per cent to HK$119.30 at the close amid a wider sell-off of Chinese biotech shares.

South China Morning Post