AstraZeneca backs Summit drug in cancer combination strategy

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said Summit Therapeutics’ lead drug could support a new generation of cancer treatment combinations that he described as a possible future direction for care. Soriot made the remarks in an interview with CNBC from AstraZeneca’s new research and development center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which the company says cost more than $1 billion. The comments came a week after AstraZeneca announced a $2 billion equity investment and clinical collaboration with Summit Therapeutics. The investment centers on Summit’s ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody designed to block two cancerrelated pathways at once: PD1 and VEGF. AstraZeneca said it sees potential to pair the drug with its own antibodydrug conjugates and other cancer treatments. AstraZeneca also used the occasion to highlight its new 570,000squarefoot research site, where it plans to use robotics, automation and artificial intelligence to speed drug discovery across areas including cancer, obesity, COPD and rare diseases.