Key Highlights

  • Shares are trading 21.88% lower at $0.91 on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
  • The confirmed first-line esophageal response rate was 75% (6 of 8 evaluable patients), moving to 89% (8 of 9) after later confirmations.
  • The second-line esophageal cohort at 700 mg showed a 16.7% response rate (1 of 6) and median progression-free survival of 5.5 months.
  • Cash, equivalents and marketable securities were $105.3 million at June 30, 2026, against $172.1 million at year-end 2025.
  • LOQTORZI net revenue reached $13.6 million in the second quarter, up 37% year on year.

Coherus Decline: Why Is the Stock Trading 21.88% Lower After Interim Data?

Coherus Oncology (NASDAQ:CHRS) shares are trading 21.88% lower at $0.91 on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The implied prior close is about $1.16 (calculated). The move follows interim tagmokitug results issued after the close on Wednesday, October 28, with a data cutoff of October 14.

Coherus is a commercial-stage oncology company in Redwood City, California. It markets LOQTORZI (toripalimab), a PD-1 inhibitor approved in the U.S. for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and is developing tagmokitug, an anti-CCR8 antibody, and casdozokitug, an IL-27 antagonist.

Esophageal Cohorts: Does a 75% Response Rate in Eight Patients Settle Anything?

In first-line esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, tagmokitug at 700 mg was given with toripalimab and chemotherapy. Ten patients were evaluable for safety and eight for efficacy. Confirmed objective response was 75% (6 of 8), including 100% in PD-L1-positive patients and one complete response. Once two more partial responses were confirmed after the cutoff, the rate was 89% (8 of 9).

The company set this against 44% to 59% for PD-1 plus chemotherapy in PD-L1-positive disease in the U.S. The cohort is small and enrollment continues, leaving durability and progression-free survival open.

In the second-line cohort, 17 patients were evaluable for safety and eight for efficacy. At 700 mg, one of six responded (16.7%) and the clinical benefit rate was 33.3%, with median progression-free survival of 5.5 months against about 3.4 months for U.S. standard chemotherapy.

Remaining Tumor Types: How Did the Other Cohorts Perform?

In second-line head and neck cancer, 43 patients were treated and 23 HPV-positive patients were evaluable for efficacy, with a 13.0% response rate and 26.1% clinical benefit rate. In second-line upper gastrointestinal cancer, 33 were evaluable and four of 17 at 700 mg responded (23.5%).

In fourth-line microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer, 17 were evaluable, with a 5.9% response rate and 11.8% clinical benefit rate. Across more than 120 patients on the combination, the company reported no new safety signals beyond the PD-1 class, with immune-related events in 40% of patients and 20% at Grade 3 to 5, and no Grade 5 treatment-related events.

LOQTORZI Revenue and Cash: How Much Runway Backs the Pipeline?

Second-quarter LOQTORZI net revenue was $13.6 million, up 37% from $10.0 million. The net loss from continuing operations was $33.3 million, or $0.22 per share, and operating cash outflow was $62.1 million.

Cash, equivalents and marketable securities were $105.3 million at June 30, down from $172.1 million at December 31, 2025, and a term loan stood at $37.2 million. On about 154.8 million weighted second-quarter shares, market value at $0.91 is about $141 million (calculated). The October 28 release did not give cash or runway figures.

What to Watch Next: Will Wider Enrollment and the November 9 Report Add Detail?

Coherus plans to widen first-line and second-line esophageal enrollment, track durability and biomarkers, and begin a safety study of tagmokitug with a T-cell engager in prostate cancer. Casdozokitug's first-line liver cancer readout is guided to the second half of 2026. Third-quarter results are due Monday, November 9, 2026, with a call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.