Funnily enough PTX just re-posted this article about Ras...

Funnily enough PTX just re-posted this article about Ras (although disappointingly PTX isn't listed as a company with a Ras program)

https://endpts.com/as-asco19-looms-...and-blockbuster-status-on-amgens-kras-killer/

As #ASCO19 looms, a top analyst showers some love — and blockbuster status — on Amgen's KRAS killer.
Amgen is feeling the love this morning.


Geoffrey Porges, a top biotech analyst at SVB Leerink known for his hard-hitting style, is putting the spotlight on their KRAS drug AMG510, projecting a peak sales potential of $2.3 billion while advising Amgen to keep this one for the home team.

With ASCO looming this weekend, there’s been a growing focus on KRAS, one of the toughest targets in oncology R&D. Amgen is a leader among a group of developers who have found a toehold on KRAS: G12C. And Porges believes that Amgen has a reasonable shot at making a drug that can conceivably work in lung, colorectal, pancreatic, and uterine cancer — which qualifies as a potential market master worth billions in sales.

You are not being promised a sure thing, however, with the analyst pegging Amgen’s chance of ultimate success in non-small cell lung cancer at 35% and 15% for the rest of the indications. And he’s looking at a 2023 launch across indications, which leaves lots of room for disappointment.

Amgen is known for partnering on big projects, even though it recently started a brawl with Novartis over their migraine drug alliance. But Porges thinks this one should stay wholly owned at Amgen, so it can keep the upside for itself.

There’s also plenty of competition. BridgeBio has a KRAS program underway, and its S-1 filing listed all the rivals hard at work in this niche — with more likely to follow. The lineup includes:
*Mirati’s MRTX849, probably one of the most frequently cited.
*AZD4785, licensed by AstraZeneca from Ionis, now in a Phase I study for NSCLC.
*Moderna and Merck are working on mRNA-5671, a messenger RNA approach targeting 4 KRAS mutations.
*J&J is collaborating with Wellspring on ARS-3248, a G12C targeted small molecule.

Then there’s Revolution Medicines, which picked up a KRAS program from Warp when that company folded.

Blockbusters-in-the-making doesn’t necessarily do much for a Big Pharma stock price, though.