While new data from Arcus Biosciences Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. didn't do much to calm an unsteady development corridor, researcher, developers and analysts still hold out hope for the TIGIT pathway. The Arcus-Gilead randomized phase II study combining anti-TIGIT domvanalimab and anti-PD1 antibodies for treating first-line, metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer produced positive results, including improvements in median progression-free survival (PFS) and six-month landmark PFS rates vs. monotherapy. But a hefty dent in Arcus' shares provide a reminder of TIGIT’s fragility as a field, and a reminder of the phase III failure in May for Roche Holding AG unit Genentech Inc.'s anti-TIGIT immunotherapy tiragolumab, which dragged down the share value of several other class entrants. Arcus stock (NASDAQ:RCUS) dipped deeply on Dec. 20 on the new data’s release, but rallied on Dec. 21 by closing 7.5% upward at $22.15 each.

Researchers from Hangzhou Healzen Therapeutics Co. Ltd. and Biopolar Hongye (Nantong) Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of a next-generation Bcl-2 inhibitor, HZ-L105, being developed for the treatment of hematological cancers.

Trastuzumab-based chemotherapy has demonstrated clinical benefits in the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer. There is a percentage of patients who do not respond to therapy and have a poorer prognosis than those who respond. To better understand the mechanisms behind trastuzumab resistance, researchers in China studied the role of transcription elongation factor A protein-like 9 (TCEAL9) in resistance to trastuzumab-based chemotherapy in HER+ breast cancer.

Tumors have a lower interstitial pH compared to healthy tissues, with tumor acidity having emerged as a driver of tumor progression as it can lead to tumor immune evasion. Solute carrier family 4 member 4 (SLC4A4), which encodes a sodium bicarbonate cotransporter involved in pH regulation and homeostasis in normal tissue, was the focus of studies in pancreatic cancer resistance in in vivo preclinical models. Researchers tested the impact of Slc4a4 deletion in cancer cells on tumor growth, anticancer immunity and response to immunotherapy in murine models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Orgenesis Inc. and Kurve Therapeutics Inc. have announced promising preclinical study results for intranasal administration of a cell-based oncolytic virus-bearing product.