Adcetris' Phase III Hodgkin's readout leaves investors wanting

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502) said Adcetris brentuximab vedotin met the primary endpoint in the Phase III ECHELON-1 study as a first-line therapy for classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL). Despite the trial's overall outcome, investors appeared unimpressed by the relatively modest absolute survival benefit shown in the study. Seattle Genetics slipped $5.19 to $56.55 on Monday, shedding about $740 million in market cap.

Compared to standard of care (SOC), Adcetris significantly improved the absolute rate of two-year modified progression-free survival (PFS) by 4.9% (77.2% vs. 82.1%, HR=0.77, p=0.035). The modified PFS was defined as time to progression, death or use of additional therapy in patients not achieving a complete response following completion of first-line treatment. Seattle Genetics is conducting the trial under an SPA from FDA, and has received scientific advice from EMA. ...