Why Turning Point Is Turning Heads

Precision oncology company Turning Point Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TPTX) has gotten off to a hot start since going public in April of 2019. The clinical-stage biotech now sports a market cap approaching $6 billion, up from $1.3 billion at the time of launch. This is in part thanks to a promising investigational drug called repotrectinib. Currently in phase 2 clinical trials, repotrectinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) taken orally. TKIs can target one or more of three specific drivers of cancer: genes known as ROS1, TRK, and ALK.

Repotrectinib showed promise in recently reported phase 2 data, with patients who took it living longer with fewer side effects than they did when using competing products (Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) Xalkori and Roche's (OTC: RHHBY) Rozlytrek). In fact, the drug may be best-in-class for ROS1 mutant non-small cell lung cancer, a very specific mutation affecting about 10,000 people per year in the U.S. and EU. All that sounds promising -- but is the sky-high valuation really warranted?

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Source Fool.com