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The dangers of biotech investing were on display on Wednesday as Amplia Therapeutics (ASX:ATX), developing a cancer treatment called ACCENT, failed to meet market expectations on the Wednesday session.
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While many on the HotCopper forums were perhaps contrarian, optimistic about the news, there is one note to make about the company’s topline trial data results.
(Worth noting, that means there’s more thorough data coming later – in Q1 of 2026.)
But for now, the company ran with one observation – ACCENT, referring to the drug narmafotinib, adds another two months of life expectancy to patients with the target cancer using chemo alone.
On a bourse full of small biotechs pushing cancer treatments ultimately designed to be used in conjunction with chemotherapy drugs, clearly, at least one cohort of ATX investors has shrugged at a two-month survival boost and jumped ship.
Still, the company reported its drug was well tolerated and that progress is still on track for a “pivotal phase 2b/3 trial” in the second half of next year, which would be the penultimate study ahead of a potential regulatory approval, all cards in order.
Still, for now, the signal of Wednesday’s price action suggests some were perhaps hoping for a more meaningful longevity proposition for patients.
The company also referenced an adverse event profile no worse than what other adverse events are experienced using more common chemo combinations, but described these as “rare.”
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A total of seven patients continued to participate in the trial for more than a year – but that 12-months-for-two-months trade-off could be forming part of downside calculus.
ATX last traded at 18cps.
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