7 Best ASX Stocks to Buy Right Now

5. Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 2

Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP) is a biotechnology company developing therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The firm’s shares underwent notable traction earlier this week after Indian firm Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.’s subsidiary entered into an agreement with its subsidiary to develop and commercialize a drug outside countries in North America, Europe, Japan, and Greater China. This drug is Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP)’s Eftilagimod Alfa medicine, which is designed to activate the immune system in order to fight against cancer. The deal benefits the firm as not only does it retain the manufacturing rights for the drug, but it will also receive a $20 million upfront payment from Dr. Reddy.

This cancer drug is dubbed ‘efti,’ and Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP) secured the deal with Dr. Reddy after reporting positive results from phase one and phase two studies in mid-November. The results for the phase two study demonstrated efficacy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma after being combined with radiotherapy and Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug, Keytruda. The phase one study combined efti with Keytruda and chemotherapy and, according to Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP), demonstrated an 81% survival rate over 24  months while being used as a first-line treatment for metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.