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A hotly debated lung cancer drug cut the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial in China

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 1205 words · By Angelica Peebles
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What to know about A hotly debated lung cancer drug cut the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial in China

An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34% in a closely watched late-stage trial, according to results released Sunday.

Claims checked 14
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34% in a closely watched late-stage trial, according to results released Sunday.

Why it matters

When combined with chemotherapy, the drug kept people with squamous non-small-cell lung cancer alive for a median of four months longer than the standard combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy, a result that was statistically significant, according to…

Common ground

The Phase 3 trial was conducted in China, and a global Phase 3 study is ongoing.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/31/asco-summit-akeso-ivonescimab-improves-survival-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
info Single Source 1
verified
Claim 1: “Called ivonescimab, the bispecific antibody targets PD-1 — similar to Merck's best-selling drug Keytruda —and VEGF — similar to Roche's Avastin.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and technical web search results confirm ivonescimab is a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF.
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web search NEUTRAL — “[Ivonescimab is a] bispecific antibody, so you [target] PD-1 as well, [and] it’s acting as an immune checkpoint inhibitor.Ivonescimab (PD-1/VEGF) received priority review from China’s NMPA for first-…
https://www.onclive.com/view/the-novel-bispecific-antibody-i…
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web search NEUTRAL — Target. PD-1, VEGF-A. Clinical data.Ivonescimab is a humanized bispecific monoclonal antibody currently being trialed for use against non-small-cell lung cancer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivonescimab
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web search NEUTRAL — Ivonescimab was designed as a tetravalent and symmetric bispecific antibody that targets both PD-1 and VEGF, constructed using Akeso Biopharma PD-1 antibody penpulimab (AK105) and anti-VEGF antibody b…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11872405/
info
Claim 2: “Shares of Summit have skyrocketed nearly 600% in the two years since Summit said ivonescimab more effectively controlled tumors than Keytruda in a separate China trial.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions the stock shot up more than 600% following a peak in 2021, but other results provided are irrelevant (Adaptimmune, Lumentum), making it a single-source confirmation for this specific claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michelle Xia (Chinese: 夏瑜; born 1966 or 1967) is a Chinese biopharmaceutical executive. She founded Akeso in 2012 and serves as the company's chairwoman, president, and chief executive officer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Xia
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 15, 2026 · The stock, which had largely been in the gutter since a November 2021 peak that valued the company at $4 billion, shot up more than 600% in ...
https://www.facebook.com/27news/posts/the-stock-which-had-la…
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web search NEUTRAL — ... Tumor Indications. Shares of Adaptimmune Therapeutics more than tripled in value after the company reported that its SPEAR T-cell platform delivered positive ...
http://thelifesciencesreport.com/cs/new/query/q/78
+ 1 more evidence source
help
Claim 3: “It expects to share results from non-squamous patients in the first half of next year.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the timeline for non-squamous patient results.
schedule
Claim 4: “Less than 3% of the cases were considered severe versus about 1% of people who received the PD-1 drug tislelizumab”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 5: “In the trial being presented Sunday, bleeding of any severity occurred in almost one-quarter of people in the ivonescimab group, twice as much as in the control group.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding bleeding rates or safety data for the ivonescimab group in the Harmoni-6 trial.
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Claim 6: “When combined with chemotherapy, the drug kept people with squamous non-small-cell lung cancer alive for a median of four months longer than the standard combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy”
CORROBORATED
The evidence confirms a median survival difference of approximately 4 months (27.9 vs 23.7 months) for ivonescimab plus chemotherapy compared to the control group.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 4, 2026 ... After a median follow-up of 21.4 months, ivonescimab plus chemotherapy was associated with a significant 34% improvement in OS over the ...
https://aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscovery/article/doi/10.1158…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 7, 2025 ... Overall survival in this longer-term analysis was consistent in Western (median OS: 17.0 months vs. 14.0 months; HR=0.84) and Asian (median ...
https://www.smmttx.com/news/press-releases/news-details/2025…
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web search NEUTRAL — Median OS was 27.9 months (95% CI, 27.89 to NE) with ivonescimab plus chemotherapy versus 23.7 months (95% CI, 20.11 to NE) with tislelizumab plus chemotherapy ...
https://www.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/267303
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Claim 7: “Summit plans to report progression-free survival results from squamous patients in the global Harmoni-3 trial in the second half of this year.”
CORROBORATED
Both CNBC and Summit's financial results report the plan to share progression-free survival results for squamous patients in the second half of the year.
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 23, 2026 ... ... Second Half of 2026 HARMONi-3 Squamous Cohort Enrollment Screening Has Been Completed Phase III ILLUMINE Study in 1L PD-L1 Positive R/M ...
https://smmttx.com/news/press-releases/news-details/2026/Sum…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... ... Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT) today announced positive overall survival (OS) results from the Phase III HARMONi-6 trial, conducted ...
https://smmttx.com/news/press-releases/news-details/2026/Ivo…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... Summit plans to report progression-free survival results from squamous patients in the global Harmoni-3 trial in the second half of this year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/31/asco-summit-akeso-ivonescima…
schedule
Claim 8: “Keytruda alone has 44 indications and generated more than $30 billion in sales for Merck last year.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 9: “U.S.-based Summit Therapeutics, which licensed the rights to ivonescimab outside of China from Akeso.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including The Motley Fool and business strategy reports, confirm Summit Therapeutics licensed the rights to ivonescimab outside of China from Akeso.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michelle Xia (Chinese: 夏瑜; born 1966 or 1967) is a Chinese biopharmaceutical executive. She founded Akeso in 2012 and serves as the company's chairwoman, president, and chief executive officer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Xia
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web search NEUTRAL — Summit licensed rights to sell ivonescimab in territories outside of China from Akeso.In addition to lackluster data that could limit ivonescimab revenue, Summit Therapeutics has agreed to send Akeso …
https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/09/09/is-summit-therapeu…
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web search NEUTRAL — The company’s licensed economic footprint is concentrated in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, where it holds rights to ivonescimab under its agreement with Akeso. What makes Summit distin…
https://umbrex.com/resources/company-profiles/summit-therape…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 10: “The Phase 3 trial was conducted in China, and a global Phase 3 study is ongoing.”
CORROBORATED
The Lancet and other web results explicitly state that HARMONi-6 was conducted in China, and NCT05899608 confirms a multiregional (global) Phase 3 study.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A lunar phase or Moon phase is the apparent shape of the Moon's day and night phases of the lunar day as viewed from afar. Because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, the cycle of phases takes one lu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe:_Pha…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the sh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe:_Pha…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 11: “In the Harmoni-6 trial being presented Sunday, ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy kept people alive for a median of 27.9 months versus 23.7 months for people who received a standalone PD-1 drug and chemotherapy”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (ASCO, news reports) explicitly cite the median survival figures of 27.9 months for ivonescimab and 23.7 months for the control group in the Harmoni-6 trial.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ivonescimab is a humanized bispecific monoclonal antibody currently being trialed for use against non-small-cell lung cancer. Developed by Akeso, it has been approved in China for the treatment of epi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivonescimab
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and retired military officer who has served as the eighth president of Indonesia since 2024. He previo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prabowo_Subianto
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Seremban City Council (Malay: Majlis Bandaraya Seremban, abbreviated MBS) is the city council in Malaysia which administers Seremban, the state capital of Negeri Sembilan and the surrounding areas in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seremban_City_Council
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 12: “Licensing deals involving PD-1 drugs reached $30 billion last year, nearly doubling the previous peak of $16 billion in 2017”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 13: “An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34% in a closely watched late-stage trial”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that ivonescimab reduced the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial for squamous NSCLC.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lord of the Flies is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 14: “The experimental drug [from Merck and partner Kelun] cut the risk of tumor progression by 65% in a study of lung cancer conducted in China”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.