CG Oncology (NASDAQ: CGON) experienced an approximate 7% increase in Monday trading. This rise is attributed to the company’s bladder cancer candidate benefiting from new data related to Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) TAR-200.
Johnson & Johnson’s TAR-200 is under development, and CG Oncology is advancing cretostimogene for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. TAR-200 aims to deliver targeted, localized gemcitabine release into the bladder. Meanwhile, cretostimogene, currently in Phase 3 trials, is described by CG Oncology as an oncolytic immunotherapy. It is designed to replicate in retinoblastoma (Rb) gene pathway-defective cells, prevalent in most urothelial carcinomas, and to initiate an anti-tumor immune response.
Recently presented Phase 2b data on TAR-200 at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress indicated that 83.5% of patients in the TAR-200 monotherapy group achieved a complete response. Of these patients, 82% maintained their response after a median of six months, with an estimated 12-month complete response rate of 57.4%.
Data from additional cohorts combining TAR-200 with the experimental drug cetrelimab showed complete response rates of 67.9% and 46.4%, respectively.
In a recent note, Cantor analyst Eric Schmidt, who rates CG Oncology as a buy, suggested that the TAR-200 data would have implications for cretostimogene. Cantor’s Louise Chen, rating Johnson & Johnson as overweight, highlighted that the data indicates TAR-200 monotherapy offers the best risk-benefit profile.