Analysts are keen to know more about the statistical weighting of Roche’s SKYSCRAPER 1 study of the TIGIT inhibitor, while Merck & Co can learn from their rival’s slip-up for their own trial design.

EGFR-targeting antibody, anti-PD-1/CTLA4 bispecific antibody and CD19-targeting CAR-T therapy from emerging Chinese oncology companies shine at one of ASCO’s most-watched sessions.

Improving efficacy by combining drugs has been a mainstay of cancer therapy but adding new targeted drugs together based on very early-stage data is not working out, especially when one of the drugs is barely active on its own.

The PARADIGM study took place in Japan, but it was described as the first to prospectively evaluate treatment of wild-type RAS mCRC and left-sided primary tumors.

The Phase III TROPICS-02 study in HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer was successful, but data for rival drug Enhertu overshadowed the results.

Amgen outlined the most frequent co-mutations in treatment-resistant lung and colorectal cancers at ASCO, while Mirati’s adagrasib showed efficacy in active CNS metastases in lung cancer patients. 

After many years of failures and setbacks, neoantigen-targeting immunotherapies are gaining momentum, with BioNTech and Roche among the frontrunners.

The results of DESTINY-Breast04 could impact survival for approximately 50% of patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer today, principal investigator Modi said at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

While the big pharma names dominate the ASCO cancer congress, it is also a chance to shine for emerging small-to-medium biopharma companies.