On Monday, H.C. Wainwright maintained its Buy rating and $85.00 price target for Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) stock, following the company's latest research update. Merus recently announced the publication of an abstract at the ESMO Asia Congress 2024, which took place on November 22-24, 2024.
The abstract detailed advancements in the use of petosemtamab (peto) for treating second-line and later head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
The data, which had a cutoff date of November 6, 2023, showed that out of 54 patients treated with a 1500 mg dose of petosemtamab, 47 were evaluable. These patients had a follow-up of at least four months and had undergone at least one post-baseline scan or had early progressive disease.
Among these, an overall response rate (ORR) of 40.4% was observed, equating to 19 out of 47 patients. This ORR slightly improved from the 37.2% reported at the AACR 2023 event earlier in the year, which included one complete response and 15 partial responses.
The findings presented at ESMO also indicated an increase in the median duration of response (mDoR) to 7.2 months, up from the 6-month mDoR reported at AACR 2023. This data suggests that petosemtamab may provide a durable and sustained benefit for patients with challenging 2L+ r/mHNSCC. It also increases the probability of success (PoS) for the ongoing first-line PD-L1+ HNSCC Phase 3 trial (LiGeR-HN1), where petosemtamab is being combined with Keytruda.
H.C. Wainwright's endorsement comes in light of what it perceives as a best-case scenario for petosemtamab's efficacy and potential in treating HNSCC. The updated data is anticipated to boost investor confidence, especially regarding the drug's ability to achieve deeper responses over time. The firm reiterates its Buy rating and $85 price target for Merus N.V., signaling continued optimism in the stock's potential.
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