Shares of Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN) were soaring 27.7% higher as of 10:48 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The big gain came after the company announced results from a phase 1b study evaluating a combination of botensilimab and balstilimab in treating microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS CRC).
Agenus presented data at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer that it said demonstrated "unprecedented activity" for the botensilimab-balstilimab combo. The company reported an overall response rate of 24%, with a disease control rate of 73% in heavily pre-treated patients.
The durability of the combination cancer therapy was especially impressive. Agenus stated that 80% of objective responses were ongoing at the time of the data cut-off. Thirty percent of objective responses exceeded one year. As a result, a median duration of response hasn't yet been determined.
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Why Agenus Stock Is Soaring Today