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AstraZeneca has agreed to invest USD 2 billion in Summit Therapeutics and test the companies’ cancer drugs together. The deal centers on Summit’s ivonescimab, which is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration for one form of lung cancer.
Summit shares rose more than 15% in extended trading after the companies announced the agreement on Monday, September 28.
AstraZeneca will buy newly issued preferred shares that can convert into Summit Therapeutics common stock. The investment values the shares at USD 18.36 per common share, above Summit’s Monday closing price of USD 15.48. Summit said it expects the purchase to close by the end of the week, subject to standard conditions.
After the purchase, AstraZeneca will hold rights equivalent to about 12% of Summit’s outstanding common stock, or about 10.6% when shares that could be issued later are included. Converting the preferred shares into common stock will require regulatory clearances. The equity purchase and the companies’ clinical work are separate parts of the agreement.
Summit plans to use the investment as it develops ivonescimab. Akeso, a Chinese drugmaker, created the treatment, and Summit holds rights to develop and sell it in several markets outside China. The drug is approved for certain lung cancer patients in China. It remains an experimental treatment in the United States and Europe.
Summit and AstraZeneca have signed a clinical trial agreement to study ivonescimab alongside AstraZeneca’s sonesitatug vedotin. They plan to begin with gastrointestinal cancers. Each company will supply its own drug, and the two will share trial costs. Each will also keep the rights to develop and sell its respective treatment.
Ivonescimab targets two proteins, PD-1 and VEGF. PD-1 helps cancer cells avoid an immune response, while VEGF helps tumors form blood vessels. Sonesitatug vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate, a treatment designed to carry a cancer-killing drug to cells with a specific target. The planned trials will test how the two treatments work when given together.
The companies also signed a non-binding preliminary agreement to explore trials pairing ivonescimab with other AstraZeneca cancer drugs. This broader trial program still requires a further agreement. Summit stated that the arrangement includes no additional payments tied to milestones, royalties, revenue or profits.
Separately, the FDA is reviewing Summit’s application to use ivonescimab with chemotherapy for patients with a specific type of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. These patients have an EGFR gene mutation and previously received a targeted treatment. Summit lists November 14, 2026, as the FDA’s target date for a decision.
The FDA review concerns ivonescimab with chemotherapy, not the new combination planned with AstraZeneca. The companies have yet to start the gastrointestinal cancer trials announced on Monday. Those studies will provide evidence on the combination’s safety and how well it works in the patients enrolled. Meanwhile, Summit Therapeutics continues to study ivonescimab in other cancer settings.
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