Attention has turned to Cytomx Therapeutics Inc.’s CX-2029 candidate after the company held up its program with the CD166-directed antibody-drug conjugate CX-2009, based on phase II data in patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-non-amplified breast cancer.
Cytomx Therapeutics Inc. CEO Sean McCarthy told BioWorld that the longish hiatus between deals broken by the tie-up with Astellas Pharma Inc. was “very deliberate. Over that period of time, we were generating our first clinical data to get experience with how the technology works in cancer patients with our first two lead programs,” both of which have reached the phase II stage. A year ago in January, he said, the South San Francisco-based firm brought aboard Chief Business Officer Nick Galli to “hit the gas pedal a bit more in business development,” which led to the signing with Astellas, of Tokyo. Shares of Cytomx (NASDAQ:CTMX) closed March 24 at $6.53, up $1.60, or 32%.
Cytomx Therapeutics Inc. CEO Sean McCarthy told BioWorld that the longish hiatus between deals broken by the tie-up with Astellas Pharma Inc. was “very deliberate. Over that period of time, we were generating our first clinical data to get experience with how the technology works in cancer patients with our first two lead programs,” both of which have reached the phase II stage.