Immuno-oncology
Following their blowout win in melanoma last month, Merck and Moderna are leading the way among a new crop of personalized cancer vaccines. Here are five companies with similar therapies hoping to break through where others have previously failed.
A year to the day after the Trump administration slashed $500 million in funding from mRNA-based programs, the FDA approved Moderna’s flu vaccine based on the technology. Weeks later, Moderna and Merck revealed positive Phase 3 results for their personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine. In the words of one mRNA specialist, “science won.”
The Phase 3 readout is the first for ivonescimab beyond non-small cell lung cancer to show a significant overall survival benefit, according to Summit Therapeutics and China-based partner Akeso.
Merck may not have had the splashiest presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, but the data show why the Big Pharma remains king of oncology, analysts say.
“King Keytruda’s reign continues,” analysts at BMO Capital Markets declared after Chinese data for Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab were revealed at the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
Analysts, investors and partner Summit Therapeutics had all been keenly awaiting the overall survival update, after previous data from Akeso’s HARMONi-6 trial left them wanting.
As Summit Therapeutics’ Chinese partner prepares to reveal data for a key trial at ASCO, analysts consider the impact on rivals Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb and BioNTech.
PD-(L)1×VEGF bispecifics have emerged as a closely watched new class in immuno-oncology, with multiple candidates advancing through trials in lung cancer. But the potential of these drugs may be highest in cancers where angiogenesis and immune escape are tightly intertwined.
Treatment with the TROP2 ADC sac-TMT led to a 70% objective response rate and progression-free survival was “significantly improved” as compared to placebo—the second positive readout for the asset this week.
Gilead Sciences has inked three deals this year so far totaling $14.77 billion, a marked escalation of the company’s usual M&A pace. Executives detailed the rationale for buying Arcellx, Ouro Medicine and Tubulis GmbH and whether they are interested in further deals.
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