Key Takeaways:
Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of CStone Pharmaceuticals (2616.HK) with a Buy rating and a 12-month target price of HK$9.44, implying roughly 91% upside from the stock's closing price of HK$4.94 on June 2.
"The updated results further strengthen the evidence for the trispecific antibody's therapeutic feasibility and differentiated potential, laying the groundwork for Phase III initiation," Goldman Sachs said in a note published after the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. The bank said CS2009's global regulatory pathway remains clear despite strong overall survival data from Akeso's ivonescimab in the HARMONi-6 trial.
CStone presented Phase I/II data for CS2009, a PD-1/VEGF/CTLA-4 trispecific antibody, at ASCO 2026. In first-line non-small cell lung cancer patients with high PD-L1 expression, the drug achieved an objective response rate of 81.3% and a disease control rate of 100%. In PD-L1-negative squamous NSCLC patients receiving combination therapy, the ORR reached 100%. The drug also showed activity in cold tumors, with a 25% ORR in heavily pretreated pMMR/MSS metastatic colorectal cancer and a 33.3% ORR in soft tissue sarcoma.
The stock plunged 32% on June 1 after Akeso reported that ivonescimab reduced the risk of death by 34% in a Phase III squamous NSCLC trial, raising concerns about competitive pressure on CS2009. Goldman Sachs argued the concern is overblown, noting that CStone plans to start its first Phase III global multi-regional trial by the end of 2026, ahead of any potential ivonescimab approval in first-line NSCLC. The bank also highlighted CS2009's favorable safety profile, with Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurring in 24.6% of patients and no excessive CTLA-4-related toxicities.
The upgrade signals that Goldman sees the post-selloff valuation as attractive relative to CS2009's clinical potential. Investors will watch for CStone's planned U.S. Food and Drug Administration Type B meeting in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the initiation of the first Phase III registrational trial, which the company expects to begin by year-end.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
