LEADS BIOLABS-B (09887) experienced significant gains in afternoon trading, climbing over 5%. As of press time, the stock was up 4.84% to HK$65, with trading volume reaching HK$22.107 million.

The surge followed the company's midday announcement that its independently developed opagantkimab (LBL-024, an anti-PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibody) successfully enrolled its first patient in a Phase Ib/II clinical study (NCT07099430). This trial will investigate opagantkimab as monotherapy or combination therapy for first-line treatment of advanced melanoma.

LBL-024 represents the world's first 4-1BB receptor-targeting therapy to reach registration-stage clinical trials for extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma, and has the potential to become the first approved treatment for advanced extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma.

CMB International previously issued a research report noting that LEADS BIOLABS focuses on developing immunotherapies involving immune checkpoints, including co-stimulatory agonists and checkpoint inhibitors, while expanding into other areas such as CD3 T-cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The company has developed proprietary LeadsBody and X-body platforms, which serve as engines for continuous drug discovery. The firm maintains an optimistic outlook on LEADS BIOLABS' development of PD-L1/4-1BB and TCE as next-generation immunooncology treatments.