Exelixis Eyes CABOMETYX Growth, Zanzalintinib Catalysts Across Cancer Franchises

Key Points

• CABOMETYX continues to gain traction in renal cell carcinoma, with VEGF TKI market share rising to 47% in the second quarter of 2026, while its neuroendocrine tumor opportunity could represent a roughly $1 billion market and support growth through 2030.
• Exelixis is advancing zanzalintinib across colorectal and renal cancers, with a potential regulatory decision in third-line metastatic colorectal cancer and upcoming Phase 3 data in colorectal and non-clear cell RCC. The company estimates zanzalintinib’s total addressable market at about $5 billion across current programs.
• The company plans to maintain annual R&D spending at $1 billion or less while funding development, business development and share repurchases, including an active $750 million buyback. Exelixis is also expanding the use of AI across commercial, R&D and administrative operations.

Exelixis NASDAQ: EXEL executives outlined a franchise-focused growth strategy centered on expanding CABOMETYX across renal cell carcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors while advancing zanzalintinib through multiple late-stage studies.

Speaking at a company event, Andrew Peters, Exelixis’ senior vice president of strategy and investor relations, said the company views its business through “franchises” spanning products, disease indications and treatment modalities. In addition to its small-molecule therapies CABOMETYX and zanzalintinib, Exelixis is developing other approaches, including tissue factor antibody-drug conjugate XB371 and next-generation immuno-oncology bispecific XB628.

“Over the last several years, we have really transformed the company, with the success of CABO, to really invest in all of those areas,” Peters said. He added that Exelixis is working toward building additional franchises beyond CABOMETYX.

CABOMETYX Share Gains and NET Opportunity

Chris Senner, Exelixis’ chief financial officer, said CABOMETYX has continued to gain share among VEGF tyrosine kinase inhibitors in renal cell carcinoma, or RCC. The drug’s market share rose to 47% in the second quarter of 2026 from 45% in the prior-year period, according to Senner.

Senner attributed growth to the company’s RCC base business as well as its neuroendocrine tumor, or NET, business. Peters said continued data generation and commercial execution are central to expanding adoption. Exelixis increased its NET sales force earlier in 2026, both to broaden coverage in that market and to prepare for a potential zanzalintinib launch, given the overlap between NET and colorectal cancer physicians.

In second-line NETs, Senner said CABOMETYX held about a 45% share of new patients during the second quarter. He noted, however, that the overall revenue contribution will build over time because NETs are generally slow-growing tumors and patients may remain on treatment for extended periods.

“What we haven’t seen yet is the stacking of those patients,” Senner said, adding that the company expects that process to develop through 2026, 2027 and 2028. He estimated the NET market’s total addressable market at approximately $1 billion at current pricing and described the indication as a significant contributor to Exelixis’ growth outlook through 2030.

Peters cautioned that it remains early to make definitive assessments of real-world treatment duration in NETs because CABOMETYX had been approved in the indication for only a little more than a year.

Zanzalintinib Programs Target Colorectal Cancer and RCC

Exelixis is approaching a regulatory decision for zanzalintinib in third-line or later metastatic colorectal cancer. Peters said the company views that U.S. market as at least a $1.5 billion opportunity, though he declined to project market share or treatment duration before launch.

He described the zanzalintinib-plus-atezolizumab combination as a chemotherapy-free, checkpoint-containing option in a setting with substantial unmet need. Peters said treatment in third-line colorectal cancer is fragmented, with roughly one-third of patients receiving the SUNLIGHT regimen, one-third receiving TKIs and the remainder receiving various chemotherapy regimens. Exelixis aims to capture share across those categories rather than focus on a single treatment pattern.

The company is also conducting the STELLAR-316 Phase 3 study in colorectal cancer patients following adjuvant or definitive therapy. Peters said interest in STELLAR-316 and the third-line STELLAR-303 program has helped create awareness of zanzalintinib among clinicians ahead of a potential launch.

In RCC, Exelixis expects a readout from STELLAR-304 in non-clear cell disease. Peters said the pivotal trial is the first large randomized study in the segment intended to establish a standard of care with what he called level-one evidence. The study’s progression-free survival analysis will include an interim overall survival look, although Peters said the maturity of the survival data could not yet be predicted.

Senner said Exelixis’ established relationships with physicians and payers in RCC would support a potential commercial launch if the STELLAR-304 data are positive.

Exelixis is also partnered with Merck on the LITESPARK-033 and LITESPARK-034 studies of zanzalintinib combinations in clear cell RCC. Peters said the company previously estimated a $5 billion total addressable market for zanzalintinib across studies underway at the time, with 45% tied to gastrointestinal cancers and 45% to genitourinary cancers, including the three RCC studies.

Peters characterized zanzalintinib as a potentially best-in-class TKI designed from the CABOMETYX scaffold with a modified pharmacokinetic profile intended to support dose titration, adverse-event management and use in multi-drug combinations.

Expense Discipline, Capital Allocation and AI

Senner said Exelixis expects to keep annual research and development expense in the range of $1 billion or less for the foreseeable future. With CABOMETYX revenue growth and a potential zanzalintinib launch, he said the company believes it can maintain healthy operating margins while funding R&D, business development and share repurchases.

The company is executing a $750 million share repurchase program. From the second quarter of 2023 through the second quarter of 2026, Exelixis repurchased approximately $2.9 billion of shares, Senner said.

Senner also said Exelixis is deploying artificial intelligence tools across commercial operations, R&D and general and administrative functions. Commercial representatives can use AI-enabled prompts to identify physicians to contact and review changes in prescribing patterns, he said. The company is also developing internal R&D tools after finding some off-the-shelf development tools less useful than expected.

“We’re using it in all different parts of the organization,” Senner said of AI, adding that the company expects its impact to increase over time.

About Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc NASDAQ: EXEL is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's research and development activities center on targeted therapies designed to address biological pathways involved in tumor growth and progression.

Exelixis' principal product is cabozantinib, marketed in the United States as CABOMETYX tablets for certain patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

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