Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers in Cowen's list of big pharma with notable catalysts in Q1 2022
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Cowen has included Eli Lilly (LLY
-1.8%), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY
+0.4%)/ Johnson & Johnson (JNJ
-0.3%), and Novo Nordisk (NVO
-2.4%) among large-cap pharmaceutical companies with the potential to generate game-changing catalysts in Q1 2022.

However, Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY
-1.8%) and AstraZeneca (AZN
-1.8%) have the highest exposure to 2022 catalysts with six and five upcoming events, respectively, according to analysts led by Steve Scala,
Cowen predicts that more than half of their top 20 events for 2022 will likely take place in the first half of the year and does not rule out a potential delay into the second half.
An upcoming FDA AdCom meeting will be a major catalyst for Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) shares in February when an expert panel will decide on the companyâs marketing application for Tyvyt as a first-line option for non-small cell lung cancer. Scala and the team note that prospects for its regulatory clearance have faded after key officials at the agency raised concerns over the Chinese origin of data backing its approval. If the officials require another U.S.-based trial for approval, the company has indicated it will pull the U.S. filing for the drug.
Another key event comes for AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) when the duo plans to present full data from the Phase III PROPEL study for PARP inhibitor Lynparza + abiraterone combination at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium scheduled for mid-February. While the transatlantic rivals announced that the trial met the primary endpoint, the full data set will be important, the analysts wrote, pointing to a multibillion-dollar market opportunity for Lynparza and the need for its efficacy to outweigh the potential side effects in PARP inhibition.
Cowen has listed the pivotal readout scheduled in February/March for selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERD) amcenestrant and giredestrant, from Sanofi (SNY
-1.9%) and Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), respectively. âBased on early data, amcenestrant looks like it could have superior safety, but perhaps limited efficacy. Giredestrant has best-in-class potential,â the analysts wrote on the two oral breast cancer therapies.
The Phase 2 readout for Milvexian in secondary stroke prevention is ranked among the top 10 catalysts in 2022 as developers Bristol Myers (NYSE:BMY) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) plan to share the data from a dose-ranging study in March. A positive outcome with a lower clinically meaningful incidence in bleeding compared to Eliquis will be particularly important for Bristol (BMY), which faces the loss of exclusivity for some of its key assets in coming years, the analysts argued.
As catalysts for this month, Cowen has added Phase 3 readouts from AstraZeneca (AZN
-1.8%) for Imfinzi in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) for once-weekly basal insulin.
The full late-stage data for the PD-1 inhibitor as a first-line option for HCC will be part of a presentation at the upcoming ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, the analysts noted. They highlighted that Tecentriq from Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) was the only approved PD-(NYSE:L)1 inhibitor as a first-line therapy for the indication.
For January, Cowen also notes another catalyst for Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decides on the coverage for the newly approved Alzheimerâs therapy, Aduhelm.