1️⃣ UCB paid $2B to skip Candid’s public-market test
UCB agreed to acquire Candid Therapeutics for up to $2.2B, including $2B upfront, adding cizutamig, a BCMAxCD3 T-cell engager in phase 1 studies across more than 10 autoimmune indications.
💡 Why it matters
Autoimmune TCEs just moved from interesting biology to expensive land grab. UCB is buying the platform before phase 2, weeks after Candid chose a reverse merger.
☕ Coffee talk
If $2B is the pre-phase-2 price, who can still afford to wait for cleaner autoimmune data?
2️⃣ Celcuity made gedatolisib a two-cohort problem for rivals
Celcuity said VIKTORIA-1 hit PFS in PIK3CA-mutant HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer, with triplet and doublet regimens beating alpelisib plus fulvestrant.
💡 Why it matters
Gedatolisib was already under FDA priority review in wild-type disease. Mutant data widen the filing story and press single-node PI3K, AKT and mTOR rivals.
☕ Coffee talk
Does Novartis defend Piqray on familiarity, or does the safety detail at ASCO decide this before launch?
3️⃣ Summit lost its early shortcut
Summit’s HARMONi-3 squamous NSCLC interim PFS look did not clear the higher early bar; the iDMC recommended continuation, with final PFS still due in H2 2026.
💡 Why it matters
Ivonescimab is not dead. But the Keytruda challenge now needs the planned readout, which changes timing and confidence before ASCO.
☕ Coffee talk
If the shortcut failed and the trial is still blinded, how much conviction was really in the stock price?