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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.