B. Riley came away ‘encouraged’ on Agenus after AACR

B. Riley analyst Mayank Mamtani says the firm "came away encouraged from AACR’23" regarding its thesis on Agenus, citing what it calls the a "renaissance of anti CTLA4 as a key immune ‘priming’ target" and "FDA’s bar elevated to allow for accelerated approval." Earlier in the week, Agenus announced receiving Fast Track Designation from the FDA for its combination therapy of botensilimab and balstilimab in patients with non-microsatellite instability-high/deficient mismatch repair non-liver metastatic colorectal cancer, or non-liver-mets MSS-CRC, and the firm contends that the company’s bot-bal combination data in 3L+ MSS CRC, across both non liver met and liver met, "represents best-in-indication data generated to date." The firm reiterates a Buy rating and $8 price target on Agenus shares.