UBS Reviews ASCO, Notes Weekend Data Points From Two Companies

In a report published Sunday, UBS analyst Marc Goodman reviewed key data points from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Goodman noted that

's data for Helios Imbruvica combo in 2L CLL/SLL was "quite strong." Imbruvica+BR demonstrated strong efficacy over placebo+BR with HR of 0.203 for PFS (not reached) and 0.63 for OS (not reached). ORR was 82.7 percent (10.4 percent CR, 72.3 percent PR) versus pbo of 67.8 percent (2.8 percent CR, 65.1 percent PR), and safety was in line with placebo+BR. Goodman continued that with significant improvement on efficacy and no additional toxicity as a combo, this "solidifies" its 2L status in CLL and gives him confidence that it can get approved in 1L which is a larger patient population with a longer treatment duration.

presented data from two studies. The first was on ABT-199 in R/R MM, the mono trial (#8576) had more mature data with ORR of 7 percent (2 out of 29, both CR in t(11,14) pts) in later line pts (>6L), and Gr 3-4 AE of 59 percent. The analyst noted that while this was a "very small" study, there appears to be some benefit in this "difficult" to treat sub-population and could expand ABT-199's potential beyond CLL. The second study focused on the ABT-199 combo with BTZ+ DEX IN RR/MM (#8580), ORR was 47 percent (three percent CR, 44 percent PR) with Gr 3-4 AE at 74 percent versus the previously reported BTZ+DEX's 55 percent ORR. According to the analyst, the Phlb data so far were "not that impressive," as they didn't show superiority, and he looks forward to more mature data.

Finally, Goodman pointed out that Abbot Laboratories is scheduled to provide additional color on two products, ABT 414 in glioblastoma, which management suggested is "underappreciated" given the small patient population and Veliparib in 1L advanced NSCLC patients who are smokers.