Conference Coverage

Attendees at this year's European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Barcelona can look forward to a range of interesting datasets, from Phase III trials of established products in new settings to preliminary studies of novel products coming through the pipeline.  

J&J acquired Taris in 2019 to gain access to TAR-200 and its drug delivery platform. Now, early clinical data suggest the product could delay or remove the need for cystectomy in several bladder cancer settings and the US healthcare giant is eyeing multi-blockbuster sales.    

The Barcelona meeting saw early data from two candidates from Incyte and Pfizer which suggest some progress for a new drug mechanism that has so far underwhelmed.    

New Phase II data for the bispecific antibody show promise in colorectal cancer as the company seeks to spread the bispecific antibody’s wings. Phase III trials are on the horizon, where it will need to go up against standard of care.    

AstraZeneca’s NIAGARA trial of perioperative Imfinzi in bladder cancer was positively received at the ESMO meeting but its design did not distinguish the contributions of each treatment portion to the overall effect – something that the US FDA is likely to have a view on.    

Persistence has paid off for Incyte’s Zynyz in anal cancer with a Phase III win that should make up for a previous disappointment at the FDA and give a boost to the firm’s pipeline prospects for a post-Jakafi era.    

Sutro Biopharma CEO Bill Newell spoke with Scrip about the company’s novel platform, its goal of improving folate receptor alpha-driven ovarian cancer and its business development strategy.

Scrip spoke with Amgen’s senior VP of US business operations about the impact of drug pricing and reimbursement pressures coming from government policy changes and commercial payers.

Dollars spent on biopharma M&A so far in 2024 may not be as high as in 2023, but dealmakers say deal volume is robust with many factors influencing the overall value of transactions this year.

Iovance’s Amtagvi won FDA accelerated approval in February, and Adaptimmune’s afami-cel may not be far behind, but cell therapies for solid tumors come with some extra challenges.

The discussant at ASCO’s NSCLC session said the field would need to “manage expectations” as the drugs do not appear to beat chemotherapy in all-comers. 

Scrip reporter Alaric DeArment is joined by the Datamonitor Healthcare oncology analysts to review key highlights from the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.   

US-based Citeline writer Sarah Karlin-Smith joins Brian Yang and Dexter Yan in China to discuss the US BIOSECURE Act and the recent BIO meeting in San Diego, while Dexter Yan discusses China-related ASCO highlights, in this mixed Chinese- and English-language episode.

Private Company Edition: Scrip spoke with the leaders of Gateway Labs and Cure at the BIO International Convention about their mini ecosystems. Also, radiopharmaceutical firm ITM raised €188m ($201.9m), Santa Ana Bio emerged with $168m and Alzheon’s series E totaled $100m.

There is a lot of structural change going on at the German major but it is learning from the way its wholly owned subsidiaries such as AskBio and BlueRock are run.

With the urea cycle disorder treatment Olpruva launched and the NPC therapy arimoclomol closing in on US approval, Zevra is one to watch in the rare disease space.

Investors, advisors and companies that have raised cash recently insist funding is available and IPOs are possible for drug developers that can clearly outline future clinical milestones.

In a late-breaker oral presentation at ASCO on the SCORES study with suvemcitug, Simcere revealed a trend favoring an overall survival advantage in platinum-resistant oral cancer, despite immature data.

The France-based mid-sized drugmaker has solidified its pipeline through several external pacts in the past few years and its dealmaking is showing no signs of slowing down.

Positive new and updated data at ASCO for Rybrevant plus lazertinib could position the combo more strongly against Tagrisso in the first-line treatment of high-risk, EGFR-mutated non-small lung cancer.