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TICKERS: EXEL

Possible Treatment for CRC Shows Promise
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The Quick Take

  • H.C. Wainwright has a Buy rating and a $52 per share price target on Exelixis.
  • H.C. Wainwright ranks Exelixis Buy on news it previewed promising data from two clinical trials evaluating cabozantinib in combination therapy for advanced colorectal cancer.
  • Results "bolster rationale for further development of cabozantinib successor, XL092, in colorectal cancer," reported H.C. Wainwright & Co analyst Michael King in a Jan. 19 research note.
  • XL902 is a next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
  • Exelixis' preliminary readouts are from:
    • Cohort 2 of the CAMILLA Phase 2 trial of cabozantinib plus durvalumab with or without tremelimumab.
    • Cohort 16 of the COSMIC-021 Phase 1b trial of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab.
  • Data from these cohorts were presented in a poster session at the annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting on Jan. 22.
  • CAMILLA Cohort 2 results show cabozantinib plus durvalumab are tolerated, safe, and efficacious in chemotherapy-refractory patients with proficient mismatch repair/microsatellite stable colorectal cancer.
  • COSMIC-021 Cohort 16 data show that cabozantinib plus durvalumab elicits meaningful anti-tumor activity and manageable toxicity in colorectal cancer patients previously treated with fluoropyrimidine-containing chemotherapy.

New available results for two cohorts, one each from two studies evaluating Exelixis Inc.'s (EXEL:NASDAQ) cabozantinib in advanced colorectal cancer, were reported by H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst Michael King.

As for the CAMILLA trial, 29 of the 36 enrolled Cohort 2 patients were evaluable. Among those the disease control rate was 86.2%, and median overall survival was 9.1 months. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 3.6 months, and PFS at six months was 34.5%.

Twelve evaluable patients in Cohort 2 had a wild type RAS gene. In this group, the disease control rate was 83.3%. Median progression free survival was 6.3 months. Median overall survival was 21.8 months.

Eleven participants had grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), the most common of which included grades 1 to 2 fatigue (53%), nausea (42%), and diarrhea (36%). A fewer number of patients experienced grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events. One patient discontinued durvalumab due to emergent adverse events.

For Cohort 16 of the COSMIC-021 trial, the primary endpoint was investigator assessed overall response rate. That was 10% (31 patients) at a median follow-up at 28.1 months. Wild type RAS patients had an overall response rate of 25%, whereas RAS mutated patients did not have any objective responses.

The most frequent TRAEs were diarrhea (52%), fatigue (42%), and nausea (35%). Grades 3 and 4 TRAEs occurred in 52% of patients, of which the most often occurring were hypertension (10%), fatigue (6%), and increased lipase (6%). Because of TRAEs, 6% of patients discontinued the double agent regimen, and 6% discontinued the single agent.

King concluded: "Clinical data generated from the COSMIC-021 and CAMILLA trials provide robust rationale to continue developing XL092 in novel combinatorial approaches and in an expansive repertoire of tumors, where cabozantinib has demonstrated meaningful clinical anti-tumor activity, in addition to efficacy."

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Disclosures:
1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
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Disclosures for H.C. Wainwright & Co. LLC, Exelixis Inc., Jan. 19, 2022

This material is confidential and intended for use by Institutional Accounts as defined in FINRA Rule 4512(c). It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply to [email protected] and delete it from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The integrity and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
H.C. WAINWRIGHT & CO, LLC RATING SYSTEM: H.C. Wainwright employs a three tier rating system for evaluating both the potential return and risk associated with owning common equity shares of rated firms. The expected return of any given equity is measured on a RELATIVE basis of other companies in the same sector. The price objective is calculated to estimate the potential movements in price that a given equity could reach provided certain targets are met over a defined time horizon. Price objectives are subject to external factors including industry events and market volatility.
Investment Banking Services include, but are not limited to, acting as a manager/co-manager in the underwriting or placement of securities, acting as financial advisor, and/or providing corporate finance or capital markets-related services to a company or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries within the past 12 months.
I, Michael G. King, Jr. , certify that 1) all of the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about any and all subject securities or issuers discussed; and 2) no part of my compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendation or views expressed in this research report; and 3) neither myself nor any members of my household is an officer, director or advisory board member of these companies.
None of the research analysts or the research analyst’s household has a financial interest in the securities of Exelixis, Inc. (including, without limitation, any option, right, warrant, future, long or short position). As of December 31, 2021 neither the Firm nor its affiliates beneficially own 1% or more of any class of common equity
securities of Exelixis, Inc.
Neither the research analyst nor the Firm knows or has reason to know of any other material conflict of interest at the time of publication of this research report.
The research analyst principally responsible for preparation of the report does not receive compensation that is based upon any specific investment banking services or transaction but is compensated based on factors including total revenue and profitability of the Firm, a substantial portion of which is derived from investment banking services. The firm or its affiliates received compensation from Exelixis, Inc. for non-investment banking services in the previous 12 months.
The Firm or its affiliates did not receive compensation from Exelixis, Inc. for investment banking services within twelve months before, but will seek compensation from the companies mentioned in this report for investment banking services within three months following publication of the research report.
The Firm does not make a market in Exelixis, Inc. as of the date of this research report.




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