Lung cancer is the second most frequent cancer worldwide, and it accounts for 18% of all cancer-related deaths. Most cases of lung cancer involve non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in which therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can improve prognosis, yet up to 75% of patients fail to respond to it. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College have identified potential metabolic markers that may help predict which patients are more likely to respond to ICI therapy.

Researchers at Araris Biotech AG have developed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology that allows single-step connection of antibody to drug via a novel RKAA peptide linker that stably prevents the drug from acting systemically.

At the Annual Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) in Lisbon, multiple sessions aimed to provide fresh perspectives on the always challenging treatment of cancer, with a strong focus on innovative strategies.

Researchers at Queen’s University of Belfast and collaborators have developed a DNA vaccine against high-grade serous ovarian cancer. The vaccine encodes PRAME, which the researchers found to be upregulated in several cohorts of patients with the malignancy.

Despite an initial complete remission of 60%-80% in patients receiving anthracycline/cytarabine induction, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) shows a suboptimal long-term outcome rate. Serine/threonine kinase HPK1 has emerged as a promising therapeutic target, demonstrating pan-cancer prognostic significance.

Medicovestor Inc.’s Adobind MC-001 has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Adobind MC-001 is a chemoimmunotherapy antibody-drug conjugate that integrates proprietary enhancements to antibody structure, payload delivery and tumor engagement.

Naya Therapeutics Inc. is expanding its hepatocellular carcinoma pipeline with the addition of NY-700, a first-in-class GPC3-targeted Astatine-211 (211At) α radioimmunotherapy aiming to address residual disease, micro-metastasis and post-immunotherapy failures.

Sunrock Biopharma SL and Shanghai Escugen Biotechnology Co. Ltd. have joined forces in a strategic partnership to codevelop SRB-123, a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting C-C motif chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9), a tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in multiple solid tumors, including pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer.

Researchers at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and collaborators have developed a new anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, mAb104, which targets a conformationally exposed, tumor-specific epitope in domain II of the HER2 protein.

Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. is set to advance lead product PHOX2B PC-CAR T (PHOX2B peptide-centric chimeric antigen receptor autologous T cells) into clinical trials for relapsed neuroblastoma following IND clearance by the FDA. The first patient will be enrolled around mid-year.