All articles tagged with #oncology
At a European pancreatic cancer conference, experts hailed the anticipated launch of daraxonrasib as a potential milestone that could reshape care, echoing the impact of checkpoint inhibitors. But they warned the new therapy would bring opportunities and challenges—from access and pricing to real-world effectiveness and how it will be integrated into standard treatment and combination strategies as data emerge.
Moderna co-founder Kenneth Chien remains bullish on mRNA’s potential, predicting an mRNA cancer vaccine could reshape oncology and lift the entire field, even as past Moderna–AstraZeneca deals failed to deliver the planned drugs.
GSK agreed to acquire Nuvalent for $10.6 billion in cash, paying about $124 per share (roughly a 40% premium) to bolster its oncology pipeline and offset expected HIV revenue declines when its best-selling HIV medicine loses exclusivity in 2028. Nuvalent brings late-stage lung-cancer assets neladalkib and zidesamtinib, plus an early-stage and preclinical portfolio, with potential blockbusters if approved by the FDA. The deal would be GSK’s second-largest ever and signals a shift toward larger biotech deals amid strong M&A activity, with guidance unchanged for 2026 and growth anticipated from 2027.
Johnson & Johnson will acquire Firefly Bio for $1 billion in cash to bolster its oncology pipeline with Firefly's Firelink degrader antibody conjugate (DAC) platform, designed to target KRAS-driven solid tumors by delivering selective protein degraders to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, with closing expected later this year pending regulatory approvals.
Revolution Medicines’ daraxonrasib is expected to gain FDA approval for metastatic pancreatic cancer soon and could rapidly become the standard second-line therapy, with discussions about expanding use to newly diagnosed metastatic cases; the main gating factor is the speed of FDA submission.
Emerging evidence suggests GLP-1 receptor agonists, drugs commonly used to treat diabetes and obesity, may have beneficial effects across multiple cancer types, indicating potential for drug repurposing; further clinical research is needed to confirm efficacy, optimal dosing, and safety.
STAT’s ASCO in 30 Seconds notes a rare standing ovation for RevMed at ASCO, while Akeso is treated with caution as the conference rolls on. The plenary has wrapped, but STAT will return with a final recap tomorrow; full article is gated behind STAT+.
A widely used asthma medication may enhance the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies, potentially improving patient responses when used in combination, though further clinical validation is needed.
A new pancreatic cancer drug, daraxonrasib, paired with chemotherapy, nearly doubles survival in advanced disease. In Phase 3, overall survival was 13.2 months with the combo vs 6.7 months with chemo alone, and earlier data showed progression-free survival around 8 months at the highest dose. The FDA has fast-tracked the drug and allowed expanded access, with potential use beyond KRAS-mutant tumors and possible earlier-line therapy consideration.
Eli Lilly will acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7 billion in cash (upfront $3.25B) to gain Kelonia's in vivo gene delivery platform and KLN-1010, an in vivo anti-BCMA CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma in Phase 1, with the aim of simplifying manufacturing and broadening access versus ex vivo CAR-T; the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and milestone-driven payments.
Regeneron pays Telix $40 million upfront to co-develop four radiopharmaceutical programs for solid tumors, with an option to add four more. If milestones are met, Telix could earn up to $2.1 billion in biobucks, or opt for milestone-based payments under a cost-sharing model, with shared global commercialization and potential co-promotion. Regeneron will select targets from its antibody portfolio and may pair these agents with Libtayo; the deal also covers diagnostics, with Telix leading commercialization. The collaboration follows Telix’s recent radiopharma expansion and comes amid regulatory headwinds for Telix’s imaging assets.
Rural Americans face longer journeys for cancer care due to sparse oncologists, hospital closures, and rising drug costs. In Wellington and nearby Childress, Texas, a local infusion center began delivering chemotherapy so patients could stay close to home, a model that contrasts with the nation’s trend of shrinking rural services (448 rural hospitals halted chemo from 2014–2024) and a shortage of rural oncologists. Policy efforts and grants aim to expand access (telehealth, incentives for foreign-trained clinicians), but Medicaid changes and coverage gaps threaten to worsen outcomes, underscoring how distance and capacity shape rural cancer survival.
Merck is nearing an all-cash roughly $6 billion deal to acquire Terns Pharma to strengthen its cancer-drug pipeline ahead of Keytruda’s patent expiry around 2028. Terns’ early-stage treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia could advance to late-stage trials by year-end or early 2027. The deal follows Merck’s recent biotech acquisitions (Verona Pharma, Cidara) as the pharma industry braces for patent cliffs and mounting dealmaking in biotechnology.
An experimental cell therapy for a rare post-transplant blood cancer, developed by Atara Biotherapeutics and Pierre Fabre, was on track for FDA approval after internal reviewers recommended clearance, but the agency unexpectedly rejected it last month, citing deficient clinical data. Anonymous former agency sources say the decision may reflect leadership changes, marking a sharp reversal that disrupts a treatment expected to help roughly 500 patients in the US each year with a grim prognosis.
Illumina announced an 18‑month roadmap for the NovaSeq X system featuring a Q70 quality score, a 40% output increase to 35 billion reads, and 30% faster runtimes (14B reads in 20–22 hours). The plan adds staggered starts, new flow cells and DRAGEN software to broaden multiomics, oncology and genetics applications. Rollout will span all NovaSeq X installations (~890 systems) and aims to enable higher-quality data at lower cost, advancing oncology, MRD testing and rare-disease research.