According to a research report from Daiwa, a "Buy" rating has been assigned to Akeso (09926).

Akeso's global partner Summit (SMMT.US) announced on the evening of Monday (the 28th) US Eastern Time that it has signed an agreement with AstraZeneca (AZN.US), under which AstraZeneca will make a US$2 billion strategic equity investment in Summit and engage in clinical collaboration on ivonescimab and sonesitatug vedotin (sone-ve, a CLDN18.2 ADC).

The investment represents an 18.6% premium over Summit's closing price on Monday. Daiwa noted that clinical studies evaluating sonesitatug vedotin in combination with ivonescimab for gastrointestinal cancers are about to commence, with both parties to share the related research costs. Summit and AstraZeneca also intend to evaluate combination regimens of ivonescimab with AstraZeneca's other anti-cancer drugs.

The firm considers this a major positive surprise for the global development of ivonescimab, significantly improving its global potential in gastrointestinal cancers, particularly gastric cancer. Daiwa pointed out that Summit had previously conducted only one gastrointestinal indication trial globally, namely a colorectal cancer trial, and market expectations for ivonescimab in gastrointestinal cancers were originally limited.

With AstraZeneca's strong strategic investment and sonesitatug vedotin's potential to be best-in-class in gastrointestinal cancers, the global gastrointestinal cancer outlook for ivonescimab has improved, ultimately expected to enhance its global peak sales potential.