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Bifunctional Antibodies: The Next Generation of Immuno-oncology Agents

Immuno-oncology agents, particularly checkpoint inhibitors, have moved to the forefront of cancer research and treatment in recent years. Indeed, the discovery that cancer could be treated by activating the immune system was honored with a Nobel Prize in 2018. But, as revolutionary as immuno-oncology drugs have been for the cancer field, many patients still do...

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Targeting Brain Cancer with New Vaccine Approaches

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common form of brain cancer affecting adults. It is also one of the deadliest and hardest to treat cancers. About half of all people with GBM survive longer than 18 months, but only 15% are still alive five years post diagnosis. Of the approximately two dozen experimental treatments tested...

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Report on ESMO 2018 – Part One

We recently returned from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting where conference news highlighted the increased movement of targeted therapies and immunotherapies into adjuvant and early-stage cancer settings, plus plenty of positive data from a variety of combination therapy trials in breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer.   (Neo)Adjuvant Treatment Gets a Boost  ...

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Analysts’ Predictions on Top 10 Best Selling Drugs in 2024 — And Our Take

Market analyst firm Evaluate released their annual report, “EvaluatePharma World Preview 2018: Outlook to 2024,” last month. The report predicts that worldwide prescription drug sales will grow to over $1.2 trillion over the next six years. Novartis is projected to be 2024’s leading prescription drug company with $53.2 billion in overall sales, followed by Pfizer...

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New Gains in Frontline Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Each spring, those of us who watch the oncology space turn our attention to two big U.S. meetings for the latest research news: the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) annual scientific meeting, held in April, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which will take place in June. AACR previously focused primarily on...

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Setting (Financial) Records in I/O

 On February 14, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Nektar announced the largest-ever deal in history involving a single development-stage drug in a partnership that greatly expands combination testing of BMS’s checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) and Nektar’s T-cell stimulating molecule NKTR-214.   Many recent immuno-oncology collaborations have involved cost sharing but no other financial transactions, and the...

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Search for an Alzheimer’s Treatment Goes On

Anticipation was high for the results of a Phase 3 trial of Axovant’s experimental drug, interpirdine. Sadly, the potential Alzheimer’s disease treatment failed to meet its co-primary endpoints. Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease who were treated for 24 weeks with 35 mg interpirdine, along with the existing Alzheimer’s disease drug Aricept, failed to...

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ESMO 2017 — Part 2: Building on Biomarkers

The news from ESMO in September once again has highlighted the utility and need for biomarkers to help determine not only who will likely benefit from a particular immuno-oncology (IO) treatment, but also who may require a combination of such therapies right from the start.   While higher levels of PD-L1 have generally correlated with...

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ESMO 2017 — Recent Developments in the Oncology Arena — Part One

We recently returned from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 meeting, which is the major meeting for oncology professionals in Europe, attracting over 24,000 participants from 131 countries.  This fall meeting saw a lot of news, notably in the areas of lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma as well as immuno-oncology generally, including...

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New Big Data Initiatives in Oncology

As cancer therapy moves towards the concept of “real-time” oncology — the ability to constantly monitor changes in a patient’s disease and adjust treatment accordingly — we see big data and high powered analytical approaches increasingly playing a key role. The aim of such efforts will be to find novel biomarkers and a new understanding...