MAIA Biotechnology shares jump 9% on upbeat latest lung cancer therapy trial results

Shares of micro cap MAIA Biotechnology jumped almost 9% yesterday, September 11, to end the day at $1.70 per share, an almost two-month high The gain followed the company's announcement that its experimental therapy for lung cancer, which is in the middle of phase II clinical trials, has demonstrated double the efficacy of standard treatment.

MAIA Biotechnology rose almost 9% to $1.70 per share yesterday, their highest close price since July 28. In morning trading today, the shares initially extended the gain by more than 3%, but later reversed course to trade 1.80% lower as of this writing.

Investors were encouraged by positive data from the second, mid-stage clinical trial of MAIA's experimental lung cancer drug THIO-101. MAIA evaluated the efficacy of sequencing THIO-101 with another drug, cemiplimab (Libtayo), in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had failed two or more standard-of-care therapy regimens.

Estimated median progression free survival (PFS) in third-line treatment (after two unsuccessful ones) was 5.6 months. The comparable PFS threshold in standard of care treatments is 2.5 months, the company said in the announcement. 

Meanwhile, the estimated median overall survival time (the point when half the patients remain alive) was 17.8 months. The last time MAIA published data in February, it was 16.9 months, versus the standard 5-6 months for chemotherapy.  

Across patients of all treatment lines, two patients have completed 33 cycles of therapy, which, the company says, highlights THIO’s potential for extended dosing, usually translating into longer patient survival.

MAIA Biotechnology, founded in 2018, is developing novel cancer therapies. Its lead candidate is THIO, which is recognized by the enzyme telomerase, present in 85% of cancers, and is incorporated into the structure of the telomeres. This creates a faulty structure; the telomeres break apart, the cancer cell DNA unwinds, and the tumor cell dies, company founder and CEO Dr. Vlad Vitoc told Oncology Compass.  

To enhance its effect, THIO is administered in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that block signaling through immune checkpoints and enable the body to fight cancer more actively. Libtayo is one such treatment. According to MAIA, the combination also helps form immune memory, allowing cells to “remember” how to resist a specific type of cancer.

Alongside non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for 85% of all cases of this type of cancer, MAIA is studying THIO for rarer but aggressive conditions such as small cell lung cancer, liver cancer, and glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer. For these three indications, the U.S. FDA has granted THIO "orphan drug" status. This designation provides financial incentives and seven years of market exclusivity from the date of approval.

According to MarketWatch, only one analyst currently covers the company, who rates MAIA shares a "buy" with a target price of $14 per share, implying more than eightfold upside from current levels.

The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.