AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told CNBC on Monday. summit therapeutics”s lead drug could help power the next generation of cancer treatment combinations, which could be the ‘future of cancer treatment.’
Soriot’s comments in an exclusive interview with CNBC came a week after the pharmaceutical giant announced a $2 billion equity investment and a clinical partnership with a biotech company to test potential cancer drug combinations.
At the center of that investment is Summit’s ivonescimab, a first-in-class bispecific antibody that works by simultaneously attacking cancer through two pathways: PD-1, which acts like a brake on immune cells, and VEGF, a signal that helps tumors grow new blood vessels.
Blocking both frees up the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, cutting off the blood supply that tumors need to grow.
Soriot called the drugs “next generation” after an initial wave of drugs that targeted only PD-1. Merck & Co.Immunotherapy Keytruda. Ibonesimab made headlines worldwide after showing superior efficacy over Keytruda, the current standard of care and one of the most profitable drugs in history, in head-to-head clinical trials in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Soriot specifically sees an opportunity to combine Summit’s drug with AstraZeneca’s portfolio of targeted cancer treatments called antibody-drug conjugates.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA, on Friday, June 5, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Summit’s drug is “particularly very exciting because, in combination with antibody-drug conjugates, it can help address certain types of tumors that can be treated more effectively than existing first-generation PD-1 drugs,” he said.
AstraZeneca’s investment represents about a 12% stake in Summit and is not an outright acquisition or license agreement. This means Summit retains full license and commercial rights to ivonecicimab, which has sparked tremendous interest and a multibillion-dollar gold rush for drugs that work similarly.
AstraZeneca’s new R&D hub
Soriot spoke to CNBC from the grounds of AstraZeneca’s new $1 billion research and development facility in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The company announced Monday the opening of a 570,000-square-foot facility where scientists will develop next-generation treatments across areas such as obesity, breast cancer, COPD and rare diseases. AstraZeneca said these new products will help the company grow through 2030 and beyond.
The center will utilize robotics, continuous automation and agent AI to support the drug discovery and development process, the pharmaceutical company added.
“R&D will be faster, costs will be lower, and more and better products will be delivered to patients,” Soriot said. “We are fighting a disease, but there are so many unmet needs in the world.”
He said about 20% of the site’s investment will go to robotics and AI.
“The idea is to not only really leverage AI to invent new drugs faster, but also invest in robotics to simplify and accelerate the process of molecular discovery and development, especially through the preclinical stage,” Soriot said.
