Summary
- Kitov Pharma is a clinical-stage business developing treatments for tumor immune evasion as well as drug resistance.
- KTOV’s shareholders most likely already know that the company acquired FameWave in January 2020. The transaction was smart because it gave the company access to the CM-24 asset.
- It is also very valuable that Bristol-Myers is collaborating with the company in the development of CM-24.
- The market opportunity is massive. It is larger than $11 billion.
- Investors will have to wait for a long time to see the company’s results.
Kitov Pharma Ltd. (KTOV) has recently become one of the most commented stocks on Twitter. The company is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company having ties with Merck (NYSE:MRK) and venture capital firms, like Arkin Holdings, Orbimed, and Pontifax. I cannot really explain why the market, at this point in time, is that interested in KTOV. The market opportunity is larger than $11 billion. However, the company will need many years to reach the status of FDA approval and it may have to raise capital several times. It could represent a buying opportunity, but as of today, it looks a bit speculative.
Business Model
Kitov Pharma is a clinical-stage business developing treatments for tumor immune evasion as well as drug resistance. The company’s pipeline includes two candidates, NT-219 and CM-24, and FDA-approved treatment Consensi. I believe that the most interesting product candidate is CM-24, which is at Phase 1 of the development. It is also very valuable that Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) is collaborating with the company in the development of CM-24.
Source: Presentation
Market players will most likely appreciate the company because a large amount of data is expected within 15 months. If the results are beneficial, most investors would expect the share price to go up and deliver stock returns.
The Most Promising Product Candidate: CM-24
CM-24 is a monoclonal antibody developed to block CEACAM1, a checkpoint, which contributes to tumor immune evasion. Kitov expects to use CM-24 in a combination with several anti-PD1 inhibitors. The company targets non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company will collaborate with KTOV in the phase 1/2 clinical trials.
Source: Presentation
The Phase 1 trial, which was conducted by Merck in UCLA and Sheba, assessed safety and tolerability. 27 patients with different conditions received doses from 0.01 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. The trial shows no discontinuation of study and no drug-related mortalities, so researchers decided to head to Phase 1-2.
Source: Presentation
KTOV’s shareholders most likely already know that the company acquired FameWave in January 2020. The transaction was smart because it gave the company access to the CM-24 asset.
