Fighting cancer is a big deal these days, both for the companies who do it and the people who have it. That’s what hit Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) so hard today, as its latest foray into cancer-fighting proved to be less of a hit than expected. Investors sent shares down over 36% in Tuesday’s trading session as a result.
Relay’s latest weapon, dubbed RLY-2608, brought back some initial data on its latest study. In an ongoing dose-escalation study, a monotherapy version RLY-2608 focused on 19 patients who had metastatic or unresectable solid tumors. Said tumors also packed a PI3K alpha mutation. Meanwhile, the RLY-2608 with the fulvestrant portion of the study focused on 23 patients who had the alpha mutation mentioned previously or HR+ or HER2- breast cancer that was either locally advanced or metastatic.
The news turned out reasonably good, though not sufficiently good to catch investor engagement. RLY-2608, for its part, did well against the alpha mutation strain and had little impact on glucose homeostasis. Further, it failed to produce Grade 3 Hyperglycemia and, so far, has proven to have little adverse risk. Among 16 patients with measurable breast cancer, 12 showed what was called a “best overall response,” nine saw “radiographic tumor reductions,” and one yielded a “partial response” ahead of future testing in the second half of this year.
The plunge was substantial, but Wall Street seems largely unfazed. Analyst consensus calls Relay Therapeutics stock a Strong Buy based on seven Buys assigned in the past three months. Meanwhile, RLAY stock is also packing a staggering 202.41% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $35.14 per share.
