New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the 61st American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

SAN DIEGO – Three months ago, Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Nuplazid (pimavanserin), its serotonin inverse agonist and antagonist that preferentially targets the 5-HT2A receptor, met the primary endpoint during an interim look at the phase III Harmony study in patients with dementia-related psychosis (DRP).

With nearly 5,000 abstracts on tap for this December's American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Orlando, Fla., organizers of the annual conference have highlighted a multitude of new advances in the event's programming.

SINGAPORE – While a lot of focus is placed on phase III trials and the subsequent approvals, panelists during the ESMO Asia Congress pointed to the importance of designing the right kind of phase I trials, from reaching global populations to using appropriate endpoints.

SINGAPORE – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. presented new findings from its phase III ALTA-1L trial evaluating its Alunbrig (brigatinib) vs. crizotinib in adults with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor, showing Alunbrig reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 76% after more than two years of follow-up.

SINGAPORE – Population-based cancer registries were a frequent focus of discussion at the ESMO Asia Congress.

SINGAPORE – As the ESMO Asia Congress 2019 brought 3,679 participants from all over the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to Singapore’s Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre, the focus, unsurprisingly, was on developments and challenges relevant to the oncology community in the region.

SHANGHAI – Although China still has a way to go to approve any CAR T therapy, clinical development is robust with various targets being studied, and the regulatory environment is improving, cell therapy experts said at the Chinatrials 12 Summit.

SHANGHAI – As Chinese biotech companies talk more about innovation, one question is whether they are ready to move into first-in-class drugs from me-too and fast follow-up drugs. Biotech executives said China still lacks the comprehensive ecosystem to support such time-consuming and high-risk R&D, but it is time to do so and they must go ahead.

SHANGHAI – With abundant venture capital and favorable policies, Chinese biotech companies are actively turning themselves from generic makers into innovation-driven players, but the market is getting crowded by too many companies focusing on the same area and even the same targets, a reality that is leading to a lack of differentiation in biotech innovation.