When questioned about discrepancies where a 24-week dose underperformed on the primary endpoint but was strong on secondary ones, the CEO avoided direct comparisons. Instead, he framed the results as a 'totality of evidence' supporting the drug's profile, a key communication tactic for presenting complex or imperfect data positively to investors and regulators.
Upstream Bio believes its 12-week dosing schedule for verekitug is a significant patient advantage, even if efficacy only meets or exceeds existing drugs. The CEO states that market research confirms that reducing injections from 13 to 4 times per year is a meaningful improvement that can drive commercial success, prioritizing patient convenience as a differentiator.
The CEO revealed a capital-efficient strategy: combining data from both its severe asthma and nasal polyps Phase 2 trials to inform a unified Phase 3 development plan. This allows the company to engage with regulators for both indications simultaneously, accelerating development and conserving resources by leveraging a single robust dataset across programs.
Despite reporting positive Phase 2 asthma data that met the company's stated goals for 12-week dosing, Upstream Bio's stock dropped significantly. The CEO attributes this to the 24-week dosing data being less robust on the primary endpoint, highlighting the gap between achieving clinical goals and meeting nuanced market expectations for a best-case scenario.