Sonnet (SONN) Up as Ovarian Cancer Drug Enters Clinical Study
Sonnet BioTherapeutics’s SONN shares rose 16.17% on receiving investigational new drug (IND) application clearance from the FDA to initiate a clinical study of its lead candidate, SON-1010, in combination with Tecentriq (atezolizumab), an immune checkpoint inhibitor developed by Roche RHHBY. The combination study will be evaluated in a phase Ib/IIa study on patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
The early-mid stage therapy is referred to as SB221, which is a global, dose-escalation study assessing the safety, tolerability and efficacy of SON-1010, in combination with Roche’s atezolizumab. Part one of this two-part study recently started enrolling patients in Australia. The IND clearance enabled a wider global reach for the study and will potentially accelerate patient recruitment through the involvement of U.S. trial sites.
In January 2023, Sonnet and Roche entered into a collaboration agreement to develop the combination of SON-1010 with atezolizumab for patients with ovarian cancer.
The company’s shares have plunged 66.9% year to date compared with the industry’s 13.6% decline.
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Ovarian cancer is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women across the world. Even though there are more ways to treat ovarian cancer now than before, the results of these treatments are not satisfactory. In the pre-clinical studies, SON-1010 has shown extended pharmacokinetic (PK) properties that can help improve the overall survival in cancer patients.
SON-1010 is a modified version of Interleukin 12 (IL-12), developed using Sonnet’s proprietary FHAB technology. The candidate is also being evaluated in an early-stage study for patients with advanced solid tumors.
Tecentriq is Roche’s leading immuno-oncology drug being developed for multiple indications. It is approved for advanced bladder cancer, advanced lung cancer, initial therapy of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, PD-L1-positive triple-negative breast cancer and unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. Roche generated Tecentriq sales of CHF 1.8 billion in the first half of 2023.
Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus
Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Sonnet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A couple of better-ranked stocks in the same industry are Emergent Biosolutions EBS and Corcept Therapeutics CORT, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Emergent Biosolutions has widened from a loss of $1.32 per share to a loss of $1.35 for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has gone down from $2.06 to $1.06 for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have lost 56.6% year to date.
EBS’ earnings missed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average negative surprise of 577.88%.
In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Corcept’s earnings has gone up from 66 cents per share to 75 cents for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has also improved from 64 cents to 81 cents for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have rallied 50.5% year to date.
CORT’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the other two, delivering an average surprise of 6.99%.
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