AstraZeneca Invests in Summit Therapeutics after Year of Speculation

AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) on Tuesday agreed to invest $2 billion in newly issued equity in Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMT) to accelerate the development of ivonescimab in combination with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) across tumor types. In July 2025, media reports circulated related to the potential partnership between the companies worth up to $15 billion. Clinical Collaboration Expands into Sone-Ve Combination Trials Summit and AstraZeneca have also entered into a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate sonesitatug vedotin (Sone-Ve) in combination with ivonescimab. Sone-Ve is a potential global first-in-class CLDN18.2-targeting ADC with a monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) payload, with several ongoing trials underway in gastrointestinal cancers. The companies intend to initiate trials in GI cancers under the collaboration imminently. Read Also: Summit Therapeutics Has Scarcity Value In A Crowded Drug Race: Analyst Under the terms of this agreement, each company will contribute its respective medicine for the planned combination trials and jointly contribute to trial costs. Each company will retain development and commercial rights to its respective medicines. Ivonescimab Shows Overall Survival Advantage Earlier in September, Summit Therapeutics’ partner Akeso Inc. revealed overall survival data from the Phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial evaluating ivonescimab against pembrolizumab. The findings showed that ivonescimab significantly extended survival for first-line patients with PD-L1-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. During its second quarter earnings release, Summit said it continues to evaluate options to finance operating cash needs for product candidates further. The company said that if it is unable to obtain funding when required in the future, it could be required to delay or reduce research and development programs, product portfolio expansion, or future commercialization efforts. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the ability to continue as a going concern. SMMT/AZN Price Action: Summit Therapeutics shares were up 17.57% at $18.20, and AstraZeneca shares were up 0.99% at $167.79 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Read Also: Trump Says Canada Will 'Get Rid' of All the Tariffs, Seek Trade Resolution Within 3-4 Weeks: ‘We're Going to Win Everything'