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Upfront Briefing
It's ASCO season, which means oncologists get a podium, biotechs get a re-rate, and the rest of us get a fresh stack of Kaplan-Meier curves to argue about. For once the hype and the hazard ratios showed up to the plenary together. Ivonescimab flexed a 34% cut in the risk of death and became the first China-born drug to crash the ASCO plenary; daraxonrasib roughly doubled survival in second-line pancreatic cancer, a setting that has humbled a long list of drugs; and Lilly, never one to leave a checkbook idle, licensed Hanmi's GLP-2 for a reported $1.2B to go long the human gut. Comps are being re-marked as we type.
Tape Action
| Instrument |
Last close |
1D % |
YTD % |
| S&P 500 |
7,580.1 |
+0.2% |
+10.5% |
| Nasdaq 100 |
30,333.2 |
+0.4% |
+20.3% |
| Russell 2000 |
2,919.3 |
(0.6%) |
+16.4% |
| Healthcare (XLV) |
149.5 |
(0.9%) |
(3.9%) |
| Biotech (XBI) |
136.7 |
+0.5% |
+12.5% |
| Nasdaq Biotech (NBI) |
5,989.8 |
(0.1%) |
+5.0% |
| Clinical Trials (BBC) |
44.6 |
+2.0% |
+18.4% |
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- Biotech held its bid better than broad healthcare — XBI +0.5% vs XLV (0.9%) — as the ASCO plenary (ivonescimab OS, daraxonrasib in PDAC) sorted clinical winners from the rest.
- The broad tape closed at record highs on a tech blowout — Dell +33% on a Q1 beat and raised guidance, with Micron +5% and Qualcomm +3% — while WTI fell ~1.7% to ~$87 as reports of a US-Iran 60-day ceasefire extension that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz eased the war premium into month-end.
- Market data: U.S. cash close Friday, 29 May 2026.
The Big 3
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1
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Ivonescimab posts overall survival win in lung cancer
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Akeso and Summit reported that ivonescimab plus chemotherapy improved overall survival versus tislelizumab (a PD-1) plus chemotherapy in first-line advanced squamous NSCLC, cutting risk of death 34% (median OS 27.89 vs 23.69 months; HR 0.66, p=0.0017). It is the first head-to-head Phase 3 in which a PD-1/VEGF bispecific has beaten a PD-1 on OS, the first China-originated oncology drug at an ASCO plenary, and was published simultaneously in The Lancet.
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Why it matters: A 34% reduction in risk of death (HR 0.66) in first-line squamous NSCLC validates the PD-1/VEGF mechanism head-to-head against a PD-1, tightening comps across the class and raising the bar for Summit's US-bound HARMONi program. For Summit (Nasdaq: SMMT), which holds ex-China rights, the read-through is positive but gated by a key risk: HARMONi-6 was conducted entirely in China against tislelizumab, and the FDA has signaled skepticism toward single-country data for US registration. That keeps the China-sourced-innovation and COINS Act overhang squarely in view for the ex-China commercial thesis.
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Source:
OncLive
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More:
ASCO;
CURE;
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2
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Revolution posts practice-changing daraxonrasib data
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Daraxonrasib delivered pivotal data in previously treated metastatic PDAC at the ASCO plenary: median OS 13.2 vs 6.7 months for chemotherapy (HR 0.40, p<0.0001) — roughly a doubling of survival — published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. Revolution Medicines intends to file an NDA under the FDA's Commissioner's National Priority Voucher pathway and has opened an FDA-authorized expanded access program.
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Why it matters: A near-doubling of median OS (13.2 vs 6.7 months; HR 0.40) in second-line PDAC — a setting with almost no effective options — is an effect size that moves a drug from promising to potentially practice-changing, and the simultaneous NEJM publication underscores it. An intended NDA under the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher compresses the path to a real regulatory event, while expanded-access demand offers an early read on physician pull. For RVMD holders, the debate shifts to approval timing, second-line peak penetration, and whether Revolution can convert RAS-platform leadership into a first commercial franchise.
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Source:
BioPharma Dive
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More:
STAT
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| 3 | Lilly licenses Hanmi’s sonefpeglutide in $1.2B deal |
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Lilly licensed Hanmi's Phase 2 long-acting GLP-2 agonist sonefpeglutide in a deal worth up to $1.26B — $75M upfront plus up to $1.185B in milestones, with royalties — taking global rights excluding Korea. The lead indication is short bowel syndrome; Hanmi will complete the ongoing global Phase 2 while Lilly explores additional indications via its LAPSCOVERY platform.
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Why it matters: A near-doubling of median OS (13.2 vs 6.7 months; HR 0.40) in second-line PDAC — a setting with almost no effective options — is an effect size that moves a drug from promising to potentially practice-changing, and the simultaneous NEJM publication underscores it. An NDA under the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher compresses the path to approval, while the expanded-access programme offers an early commercial read. For RVMD holders, the debate shifts to approval timing, peak second-line penetration, and whether the data re-opens M&A conversations: Merck walked away from a reported $28–32B deal in January over price — that price gap looks materially narrower today.
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Source:
BioSpace
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More:
Korea Herald;
Scrip;
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Everything Else that broke
- Kelonia shared its largest in vivo CAR-T dataset to date at ASCO, supporting Lilly's $3.2B acquisition of the biotech. — Fierce Biotech
- ERLEADA cut metastasis or death risk 20% in Phase 3 perioperative prostate cancer. — Fierce Pharma
- Oculis' OCS-01 failed two Phase 3 diabetic macular edema trials. — BioPharma Dive
- Cipepofol won U.S. FDA approval, marking a notable China-developed drug milestone. — PR
- Retevmo cut progression or death risk 83% in adjuvant RET-positive lung cancer. — Fierce Pharma
- Talzenna plus Xtandi won Phase 3 in castration-sensitive prostate cancer. — Fierce Pharma
Deal Flow
| BioBucks 2026 Deal Trackers • Updated weekly ⬇️
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M&A / BD&L
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Lilly licensed Hanmi's Phase 2 GLP-2 agonist sonefpeglutide in a reported $1.2B deal (see The Big 3). — Fierce Biotech
VC / Private Financings
- No notable private financings since the last edition. — PR
IPOs / Follow-Ons
- No notable IPO or follow-on financings since the last edition. — PR
Academic Corner - Phase 1 Nature Medicine data highlighted IMA401, a MAGE-A4/MAGE-A8-targeted bispecific T-cell engager, in refractory solid tumors. — Nature Medicine
- Lancet editorial argued neurology is shifting toward biologically defined disease and earlier intervention. — Lancet
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Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow — BioBucks Team.
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