Shares of Arcus Biosciences Inc.
RCUS,
+12.56%
gained 19.8% in trading on Thursday, the day after the company said its experimental lung-cancer PD-L1 treatment demonstrated clinical activity in an open-label, Phase 2 clinical study. Arcus did not release specific data but said the trial will continue. Gilead Sciences Inc.
GILD,
+1.14%
recently increased its stake in Arcus to 19.% from 13% and has the exclusive option to co-develop the drug, domvanalimab. Wall Street analysts still have some questions about the viability of the research. "Limited details cloud interpretation of just how promising or competitive the program looks thus far," RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams wrote in a note to investors. However, SVB Leerink analysts say the data, though limited, bodes well for companies developing similar therapies, including Compugen Ltd.
CGEN,
+14.01%,
iTeos Therapeutics Inc.
ITOS,
+3.71%,
and Merck & Co. Inc.
MRK,
+0.74%.
Shares of Arcus are down 9.8% this year, while the broader S&P 500
SPX,
+0.53%
is up 13.0%.