Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) announced first data from a phase I study on AG-120, an oral, first-in-class IDH1 mutant inhibitor which is being evaluated as a single agent, for the treatment of isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutant positive glioma and chondrosarcoma.
The study is part of dose expansion for AG-120, and the data was presented at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting in Scottsdale in the state of Arizona. Further, the chondrosarcoma data was also presented last week at the annual meeting of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) in Lisbon, Portugal.
The phase I study is assessing the safety and tolerability of AG-120 in advanced solid tumors, including glioma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) and chondrosarcomas that harbor an IDH1 mutation.
Data from the study demonstrated a well-tolerated safety profile for AG-120 at a fixed daily dose of 500 mg. Both patient populations experienced prolonged stable disease.
In May 2016, Agios announced an agreement with Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) in the field of metabolic immuno-oncology. The companies also agreed to amend certain rights under their 2010 collaboration, with Agios gaining full global development and commercialization rights to AG-120. Previously, Agios had only U.S. rights to AG-120.
Agios plans to initiate a phase III study evaluating AG-120 in front-line AML patients with an IDH1 mutation in the first half of 2017. The company plans to explore a similar regulatory path for AG-120, which could lead to an NDA submission in the U.S. in 2017.
Agios currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) and Heska Corporation (NASDAQ:HSKA) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Arbutus’ loss estimates narrowed from $2.15 to $1.74 for 2016 and from $1.96 to $1.51 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive surprises in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 59.31%.
Heska’s earnings estimates increased from $1.13 to $1.35 for 2016 and from $1.38 to $1.53 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive surprises in each of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 301.64%. Share price surged 73.66% year to date.
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