Seagen (NASDAQ:SGEN) shares jumped at the open on Friday after the company and its partner Astellas announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 EV-302 clinical trial.
The companies revealed that the EV-302 study met the dual primary endpoints of overall survival and progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy.
"This study has the potential to be practice changing and offer a new standard of care for first-line metastatic bladder cancer," said Roger Dansey, president of research and development at Seagen.
Reacting to the news, Truist analysts, who have a Hold rating and $229 price target on the stock, said in a note that the result is "unsurprising."
This is due to "the strong data the same combo produced in 1L cis ineligible mUC, but it satisfies a deliverable that we think underpinned Pfizer's (PFE, Buy, Karnauskas) interest in the company," they wrote.
"We expect EV-302 data at a medical meeting next year (likely ASCO GU), and subsequent approval should enable use in a broader patient population, which represents an increase of 5k patients (~13k total in 1L) - although we think there may be some off label use already," the analysts concluded.