ESMO Special: GSK-iTeos' TIGIT combo sparks mixed reviews; BMS, Regeneron lock in LAG-3 battle

ESMO Special

UPDATED: iTeos-GSK's TIGIT combo shows 30% more tumor shrinkage than Jemperli, but safety signals scare investors

Bristol Myers moves Opdualag into phase 3 trials in competitive first-line lung cancer field

'Cooking with gas': Regeneron sees its Opdualag rival as next big thing for treating solid tumors

Pfizer sees weight gain in cancer patients, aims to enter phase 3 in 2025

Despite checkered past, Merck's Keytruda-Lenvima pairing looks to change practice in liver cancer subtype

AstraZeneca steps out from Daiichi's shadow, posting data on ADC rivals to AbbVie, Pfizer

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi extends life in bladder cancer type. Will FDA push back on its perioperative trial design?

AstraZeneca stands by Truqap despite surprise breast cancer flop

Merck unpacks a mixed bag of gynecological cancer results for Keytruda

IO Biotech's vaccine and Keytruda combo hits primary endpoint in phase 2 squamous cell carcinoma trial

Bristol Myers axes Immatics' bispecific after $150M bet

GSK's Zejula misses survival goal in first-line ovarian cancer, as pharma&'s combo disappoints

Even after unique trial win, Incyte CEO views PD-1 drug Zynyz as pipeline aide

Lantheus' phase 3 radiotherapy readout not enough to topple Pluvicto, say analysts

With survival win, Merck's Keytruda redeems itself in early triple-negative breast cancer

Despite survival miss, Exelixis presses on with FDA prostate cancer bid as Ipsen scraps EU plan

Bayer hopes to expand Nubeqa's prostate cancer reach with chemo-free regimen

Despite positive trial, Merck's Welireg still comes up short in overall survival

Jazz HER2 bispecific posts 59% survival at 30 months in gastric cancer

AZ, Daiichi build case for Enhertu in breast cancer patients with brain metastases

Exact Sciences shows off early colorectal cancer blood test data

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Bristol Myers moves Opdualag into phase 3 trials in competitive first-line lung cancer field

By Angus Liu

More than two years after an initial FDA approval in melanoma, Bristol Myers Squibb is moving its PD-1/LAG-3 combo Opdualag into registrational testing in one of the most important disease areas—first-line non-small cell lung cancer.

'Cooking with gas': Regeneron sees its Opdualag rival as next big thing for treating solid tumors

By Gabrielle Masson

Pfizer sees weight gain in cancer patients, aims to enter phase 3 in 2025

By Nick Paul Taylor

Cancer patients with wasting syndrome have gained weight after taking Pfizer’s anti-GDF-15 antibody in a midphase study, emboldening the Big Pharma to target a 2025 start date for its pivotal trial program.

Despite checkered past, Merck's Keytruda-Lenvima pairing looks to change practice in liver cancer subtype

By Angus Liu

After a surprise failure in advanced liver cancer, Merck & Co. and Eisai are hoping new data can make their Keytruda-Lenvima combination a standard of care in intermediate-stage disease. But questions remain.

AstraZeneca steps out from Daiichi's shadow, posting data on ADC rivals to AbbVie, Pfizer

By Nick Paul Taylor

AstraZeneca has shared an early look at the performance of its in-house antibody-drug conjugate technology, publishing phase 1 data on candidates that could compete with molecules from AbbVie and Pfizer.

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi extends life in bladder cancer type. Will FDA push back on its perioperative trial design?

By Angus Liu

AstraZeneca’s detailed data show exactly how Imfinzi became the first PD-1/L1 inhibitor to deliver a patient survival win in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. But the win came from a perioperative regimen, a trial design that’s been criticized by the FDA in lung cancer.

ESMO: AstraZeneca stands by Truqap despite surprise breast cancer flop

By Angus Liu

Merck unpacks a mixed bag of gynecological cancer results for Keytruda

By Zoey Becker

The company unveiled new data from its KEYNOTE-A18 study in late stage cervical cancer and its failed KEYNOTE-B21 trial testing Keytruda as an adjuvant therapy in newly diagnosed endometrial cancer.

IO Biotech's vaccine and Keytruda combo hits primary endpoint in phase 2 squamous cell carcinoma trial

By Darren Incorvaia

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the superheroes of cancer therapy. Drugs like Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Merck’s Keytruda are among the most profitable in the world—Keytruda pulled in $25 billion last year, making it the bestselling drug of 2023. But every good superhero needs a sidekick.

Bristol Myers axes Immatics' bispecific after $150M bet

By Nick Paul Taylor

Bristol Myers Squibb has jettisoned another cancer candidate in-licensed under its former CEO. Immatics is the latest partner to get a termination notice, leaving it in full control of a bispecific molecule that BMS picked up for $150 million upfront late in 2021.

GSK's Zejula misses survival goal in first-line ovarian cancer, as pharma&'s combo disappoints

By Angus Liu

In a rough day for PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer, GSK’s Zejula didn’t deliver a life extension benefit in the final analysis of a phase 3 trial. Another study showed that pharma&’s attempt to enhance its Rubraca with Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo seriously backfired.

Even after unique trial win, Incyte CEO views PD-1 drug Zynyz as pipeline aide

By Angus Liu

Incyte’s late PD-1 entrant Zynyz has chalked up a unique clinical win. Yet company CEO Hervé Hoppenot views the antibody molecule not necessarily as a major revenue driver but as an aide to the company’s oncology pipeline.

Lantheus' phase 3 radiotherapy readout not enough to topple Pluvicto, say analysts

By James Waldron

Lantheus may have been hoping that “statistically significant” phase 3 data for its radioligand therapy would make a splash at ESMO, but not everyone is impressed.

With survival win, Merck's Keytruda redeems itself in early triple-negative breast cancer

By Angus Liu

In 2021, the FDA blasted Merck for using premature data to pursue a Keytruda approval in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. Now, the PD-1 inhibitor has gold-standard overall survival data to back its case.

Despite survival miss, Exelixis presses on with FDA prostate cancer bid as Ipsen scraps EU plan

By Angus Liu

The same set of clinical data on Cabometyx and Tecentriq in prostate cancer has led to two distinct regulatory plans between Exelixis and its partner Ipsen.

Bayer hopes to expand Nubeqa's prostate cancer reach with chemo-free regimen

By Angus Liu

Bayer is targeting a broader use of Nubeqa in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer with a combination free of chemotherapy.

Despite positive trial, Merck's Welireg still comes up short in overall survival

By Kevin Dunleavy

One year after reporting a split result on Merck’s Welireg in a key phase 3 trial, the song remains the same for the kidney cancer drug as it continues to show benefits in progression-free survival but no significant improvement in overall survival when compared to Novartis’ chemotherapy Afinitor. Merck presented the results at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress in Barcelona.

Jazz HER2 bispecific posts 59% survival at 30 months in gastric cancer

By James Waldron

Jazz Pharmaceuticals has posted fresh phase 2 data on zanidatamab that show the HER2-targeted bispecific antibody kept 59% of people with metastatic gastroesophageal cancer alive for at least 30 months.

AZ, Daiichi build case for Enhertu in breast cancer patients with brain metastases

By Fraiser Kansteiner

To bolster Enhertu's case in HER2-positive breast cancer, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have rolled out positive data for the antibody-drug conjugate in patients who have brain metastases.

Exact Sciences shows off early colorectal cancer blood test data

By Conor Hale

Presented at the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology, Exact Sciences said the latest findings may put its upcoming blood screener in the same realm as a fecal immunochemical test in the detection of advanced precancerous lesions.