Genmab rises 48% after petosemtamab halves death risk with Keytruda
Genmab, a Danish biotech company, just saw its stock jump 48% after announcing that its experimental head and neck cancer treatment, petosemtamab, cut the risk of death by half for patients with tough-to-treat head and neck cancers when paired with Merck's Keytruda.
This is actually their third big win in phase 3 trials in October. Pretty impressive.
Genmab aims to reach 500,000 patients
These successes mark a shift for Genmab: they now fully own petosemtamab (after buying Merus in 2025) instead of just partnering for royalties.
CEO Jan van de Winkel wants to grow access to their treatments from under 30,000 people today to about 500,000 by the 2030s.
To make that happen, Genmab is building up its presence in Europe and the US so more patients, not just those at specialist hospitals, can benefit from their therapies.