Biotech Strategy Blog

Commentary on Science, Innovation & New Products with a focus on Oncology, Hematology & Immunotherapy

About MaverickNY

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Posts by MaverickNY

Armoured and Dangerous

What if the CAR-T cells falling short for lymphoma patients could actually teach us how to build better ones?

New clinical data just proved failure isn’t the end of the story – it’s actually the beginning of something more sophisticated – and effective.

The latest results suggest we’ve been thinking about CAR-T therapy all wrong, and the implications reach far beyond CD19 targeting cell therapy products…

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Schrödinger’s Super Power

In our latest expert interview, we explore Schrödinger’s early pipeline agents and their broader AI capabilities to see how things are progressing since we last spoke with them three years ago.

Of course, Schrödinger’s programs do not exist in a vacuum.

The infamous MALT loaf     Source: Tesco

The MALT1 space has seen some high-profile setbacks, WEE1 inhibitors continue to grapple with therapeutic index challenges, and new players are entering both spaces with different approaches.

The competitive dynamics around these targets continue to evolve rapidly.

Several provocative questions emerged from our discussion…

How do the early clinical results stack up against the broader competitive landscape, what lessons might be lurking in the successes and failures of those who came before, and where are the unexpected future directions to consider for the field?

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Dual CAR-T therapies: two engines, better mileage?

The promise of CAR-T cell therapy has always come with a frustrating caveat: cancer’s ability to adapt. Just as we’ve seen with targeted drugs, tumours find ways around single target approaches, in this case, by simply losing or downregulating the CD19 antigen most current CAR-T therapies in lymphomas depend on.

Revving up

It’s a predictable problem, which has sent researchers scrambling for solutions leading to an intriguing question: what if we could target two different antigens simultaneously?

Over the past few months, a new wave of clinical data has emerged testing exactly this approach, combining CD19 with CD20 targeting in various dual CAR-T constructs.

The results range from genuinely encouraging to frustratingly incomplete, but they do offer a new look at whether dual targeting can outsmart cancer’s escape mechanisms…

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Protein Degraders Hit Their Stride

After years of breathless promises about intractable targets finally becoming druggable, protein degraders are starting to deliver – except perhaps not quite in the way many in the biotech world expected.

Through the glass window in Italy

This weekend’s EHA meeting revealed several different classes of protein degraders are indeed showing impressive clinical activity.

In some cases they’re also uncovering unexpected resistance mechanisms, which could threaten to make some opportunities obsolete faster than the companies developing them might care to admit!

Curious to learn more from our latest conference report?

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More than numbers

Duomo Milano Italy

There’s a lot going on at the European Hematology Association (EHA) this year with plenty of readouts offering some provocative food for thought.

One thing I often wonder about when looking at emerging molecules within a particular class of agents is are the company building a brick wall (first-in-class) or are they potentially creating a cathedral (best-in-class)?

It isn’t always to tell in the beginning, yet as time goes by things start to shake out more and the data starts to speak for itself.

This is very much the case with regards to the Menin inhibitors being showcased in Milan this year…

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In a nutshell

Five years ago, the idea of functional cures for lupus, systemic sclerosis, or refractory myositis seemed like science fiction.

Gaudi’s inspiring Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Today in Barcelona, rheumatologists are presenting data showing exactly this – patients walking away from lifelong immunosuppression, kidney transplant lists, and progressive organ damage through a single infusion of engineered immune cells.

The European Congress of Rheumatology is underway and showcasing a revolution in autoimmune treatment where ‘functional cures’ are no longer theoretical, but slowly becoming documented reality.

Here are eight developments to watch out for, some of which may be rewriting the playbook for diseases once considered incurable…

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Upping the Game

The conversation at this year’s ASCO sessions in some of the less sought after cancers carried an undercurrent of cautious optimism rarely heard in these halls.

Time for some new pathways and fresh directions

After decades of incremental progress and sobering statistics, investigators are grappling with an unexpected problem: how to sequence, combine, and optimise a sudden influx of active agents targeting pathways, which actually seem to matter.

The familiar old refrain of “nothing works in X!” is giving way to more complex questions about biomarker selection and maintenance strategies.

It’s entirely possible we’re finally approaching the critical mass of effective therapies needed to fundamentally alter the disease trajectories.

Yet beneath this enthusiasm lies a nagging awareness of how the most challenging aspects of these cancers remain untouched by our expanding arsenal.

In this review, we explore a number of different agents showing early promise, which may offer opportunities for intrepid companies seeking to make a real difference…

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Beyond the antibody hype: small molecules show mixed results at ASCO25

While Big Pharma chases the next supposed peacock masquerading as a blockbuster bispecific antibody, a quieter revolution is unfolding in conference halls and clinical trial sites.

At ASCO 2025, five small molecule programs demonstrated why the oral R&D pipeline deserves more than passing attention, though perhaps not all for the reasons their sponsors hoped.

From promising tolerability breakthroughs to sobering reality checks on intractable targets, these updates reveal both the untapped potential and persistent challenges facing small molecule innovation in oncology…

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Wired for Impact

Why read this latest BSB article on ADCs? Quite simply because the next chapter is being written now – and it’s nothing like the last!

From biparatopic constructs to dual payloads and engineered therapeutic windows, this ASCO25 roundup dives into the emerging wave of immunotherapies that are redefining what’s possible in solid tumours.

It’s not all smooth sailing: these innovations are clashing headlong with biology’s old tricks – resistance, toxicity, therapeutic index.

This post distills six cutting edge programs with fresh clinical data and sharp analysis into one must-read briefing for anyone shaping tomorrow’s oncology pipeline.

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Gunfight at the ASCO Corral

In the fast-moving world of metastatic breast cancer, therapeutic relevance can shift in the time it takes for a single conference session to end.

At the annual meeting for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) this year, the spotlight has turned to ESR1 mutations, once a niche biomarker, now a battleground for drug developers navigating a crowded and volatile landscape.

Between fresh data, biomarker insights, and shifting treatment paradigms, one thing is clear: the rules of engagement are changing, and not everyone will make it out of this showdown intact.

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