Summary
Duvelisib CLL/SLL (Chronic Lymphotic Leukemia/Small Lymphotic Leukemia) FDA priority review approval decision imminent.
Duvelisib will be the only drug of its kind - a monotherapy PI3K dual inhibitor that can be taken orally at home without traveling to an infusion center.
Defactinib FAK inhibitor combination treatment might be a huge catalyst based on early clinical results.
Strong financial position with $170 million cash and minimal debt - management has indicated the company is well-funded into 2020. $600 million market cap signals clear undervaluation in an oncology peer analysis.
AbbVie owns two other competing oral monotherapies and has a history with Duvelisib.
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Introduction
Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM), an IPO from 2012 and a company that some say started the IPO craze again after the bank crisis, describes itself as: “a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing drugs to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients”. It has two drugs (Duvelisib and Defactinib) in the pipeline with multiple applications and collaborators. Both work by inhibiting critical signaling pathways in cells, and thus, also the defense of cancer cells.
