Glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase-like protein (QPCTL) is a modulator of CD47-SIRPα binding and can be targeted to achieve antitumor responses through myeloid checkpoint blockade. At the recent ESMO meeting in Madrid, researchers from Insilico Medicine Inc. reported the preclinical characterization of ISM-8207, a QPCTL inhibitor with activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Novartis AG’s radioligand therapy, Pluvicto, a bestseller for the company that has been restructuring itself, continues to show strong growth in the third quarter of 2023, according to its most recent financial results. Sales were up 217% from the same quarter in 2022 at $256 million. Analysts are predicting blockbuster sales. Adding to the momentum were new data from the phase III PSMAfore study of Pluvicto (lutetium [177Lu] vipivotide tetraxetan), in second-line cancer, hitting its primary endpoint of radiographic progression-free survival in treating prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after treatment with androgen receptor pathway inhibitor therapy.
Immutep Ltd.’s lead candidate, eftilagimod (IMP-321, efti), a lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) fusion protein and major histocompatibility complex class II agonist, delivered an overall survival benefit of 35.5 months in the TACTI-002 trial that combined efti with Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as first-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at two years follow-up.
Some cancers with a poor prognosis have had no new treatments in decades. Advances in the genetic characterization of these tumors now offer a range of possibilities for the development of new therapies that could completely change the quality of life and survival of these patients.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is in full development, and advances are already used in many fields, including medicine. In oncology, these tools can identify a tumor in an image with 99% accuracy. But they can also miss it if the algorithm was not developed with the right data or the correct decisions. The 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress brought together in Madrid doctors and deep learning experts to discuss the challenges and advances of AI in this area. And what’s better than asking an AI what its trainer has told it about AI?
Harpoon Therapeutics Inc. provided updated interim monotherapy data from 71 patients in its phase I/II trial testing HPN-328 in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other neuroendocrine tumor types in a poster at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO). Wall Street immediately began comparing the compound, which takes aim at delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) with a similar prospect from Amgen Inc. that recently yielded promising results.
Some cancers with a poor prognosis have had no new treatments in decades. Advances in the genetic characterization of these tumors now offer a range of possibilities for the development of new therapies that could completely change the quality of life and survival of these patients.
Novigenix SA reported interim European validation data for its whole blood RNA signature for early detection of precancerous colorectal lesions. The data was presented in early July at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona.
At the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress 2022, Compugen Inc. shared phase I data for COM-701 in dual and triple combination with Bristol Meyers Squibb Co.’s Opdivo (nivolumab) and with or without BMS-986207.