Image source: Getty Images
S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) healthcare share Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM) is marching higher today.
Shares in the clinical-stage biotech company closed on Friday trading for 30.5 cents. In morning trade on Monday, shares are changing hands for 30.75 cents apiece, up 0.8%.
For some context, the ASX 300 is down 0.1% at this same time.
With today’s boost factored in, this sees Immutep shares up 33.7% since 12 September.
Here’s what’s grabbing investor interest this morning.
ASX 300 healthcare share lifts on positive conference coverage
This morning, Immutep, which focuses on treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced that positive data from its EFTISARC-NEO Phase II trial were shared in a Proffered Paper oral presentation at the 2025 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin, Germany.
According to the release from the ASX 300 healthcare share:
The investigator-initiated Phase II study evaluating eftilagimod alfa (efti) with radiotherapy plus KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in the neoadjuvant setting for resectable soft tissue sarcoma (STS) met the primary endpoint and significantly exceeded the study’s prespecified 35% tumour hyalinization/fibrosis. In the evaluable patient population (N=38), the novel combination with efti reached a median 51.5% tumour hyalinization/fibrosis.
Dr Katarzyna Kozak, who shared the data at ESMO, said, “The novel combination with neoadjuvant efti has significantly exceeded the originally established target for the trial’s primary endpoint in resectable soft tissue sarcoma.”
Kozak added:
These outcomes achieved in a diverse population of multiple STS subtypes further substantiate the hypothesis that efti’s unique stimulation of antigen-presenting cells, resulting in a robust adaptive and innate immune response, contributes to modifying the immunosuppressed tumour microenvironment and achieving notable anti-cancer efficacy in soft tissue sarcomas.
Commenting on the potential demand this may imply for the ASX 300 healthcare share, Immutep CEO Marc Voigt said, “There is a significant unmet medical need for novel therapies in STS that have the potential to provide better outcomes for patients than the current standard of care radiotherapy.”
What else did Immutep announce?
In a separate announcement today, the ASX 300 healthcare share reported that Dr Akin Atmaca, Head of the Thoracic Oncology at UCT-University Cancer Center in Frankfurt, Germany, also presented promising data at ESMO.
Atmaca detailed data from Immutep’s investigator-initiated INSIGHT-003 trial.
According to the release:
In this multi-centre study, the novel combination of eftilagimod alfa (efti) with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy (carboplatin/pemetrexed) has generated strong objective response rates (ORR) and disease control rates (DCR) in 51 evaluable patients with advanced or metastatic non-squamous 1L NSCLC across all PD-L1 expression levels.
Immutep’s Voigt said, “We are increasingly confident that efti can set a new standard of care as first line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients through our pivotal TACTI-004 Phase III trial, supported by strong data from multiple clinical trials evaluating efti in lung cancer including INSIGHT-003.”