Biotech Strategy Blog

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

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Posts by MaverickNY

Chemistry in context – next generation cell therapies

Roses in the Marie Curie garden

If a Nobel Prize for cancer cell therapy is awarded – and at BSB we wouldn’t be surprised to see this happening at some point in the future – then there’s a good chance it would be awarded in Chemistry and not Medicine or Physiology.

The discovery and development of novel constructs, novel targets, coupled with the application of gene editing and synthetic biology, is very much a case of chemistry in context.

The development of CAR T cell therapy is making rapid progress and already we are seeing glimpses of potential next generation therapies with very different looks from the currently approved products.

In this post we highlight several catching our attention, for good and not so good reasons…

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From far away you see more

The ‘Friendly Alien’

Von weit weg sieht man mehr (from far away you see more) is the title of an exhibition at the Kunsthaus Graz, an iconic modern art museum known as the “Friendly Alien” for its cutting edge design akin to a space ship which has landed in the city.

The same concept could also apply to cell therapy, as well as oncology new product development in general.

It’s all too easy to get bogged down in the weeds and   overwhelmed by detail – sometimes you need to step back to look from the distance to see more clearly and, in particular, the innovation or evolution currently happening in the field.

Some developments might look relatively small or even curious in nature, yet can turn out to be surprisingly ahead of their time, while others may portend issues ahead for the wise.

In this latest post, we take a look at a variety of novel CAR-T cell therapies involving some more unusual targets or designs and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities they face.

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The weird, the wild, and the wonderful

Seeing a Nawlins style paddle boat on a river in Germany is kind of weird, wild, and wonderful all at once!

Following the ESMO Breast Cancer conference in Berlin this weekend, we have some data we’d like to draw your attention to.

These are also key topics for discussion in the broader context of what’s happening in advanced breast cancer and where the field is (or perhaps ought to be) heading next.

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Early research which points us to new cancer therapeutic opportunities

Have you ever wondered why some anti-cancer agents do well and others poorly – even with similar modalities or approaches?

The devil is often in the details, whether it be a different trial design, target or modality, or even in several molecules against the same target where the conformation might offer a subtle yet important variation because it hit the right cell/right compartment.

In our latest post we review three emerging targets and explore how new data may change the way we go about tackling the disease with novel therapeutics.

The examples are all from creative and innovative scientists who set out to better understand the underlying biology in order to improve on what can be done in the clinic.

Begin with the end in mind is often an obvious and yet smart strategy few people do really well…

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Heading to the stars in RAS driven cancers

Hubble image, as seen at the Hamburg Planetarium

If you visit your local Planetarium, you’ll notice the night sky and how both the brightness and closeness of stars are constantly changing with the seasons and orbits of planets.

Like oncology drug development, it’s a dynamic, constantly moving environment.

Some companies shine brightly for a while then fizzle out, others take a while to show up in the night sky depending on which direction observers are looking in.

In this post we’re taking a closer look at an early stage biotech with an innovative approach to targeting KRAS.  Will it be a future star?

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A cluster of new developments

Spring is renowned for the season of rejuvenation and new beginnings in nature.

Are we also seeing similar re-birth in novel science developments?

As we head towards the annual ASGCT meeting later this month, there are several important papers I wanted to highlight relevant to the cell and gene therapy niche.

This area is suddenly coming along in leaps and bounds and making great new strides.

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The road less travelled

The path less travelled can take us in interesting and unknown directions

We often talk about innovation on BSB and how hard it is to blaze a new path in oncology drug development.

Sometimes what it requires is a different way to think about a target or a new approach to modulating a pathway.

In our latest post AACR23 review, we are taking a closer look at more gems from the poster hall and how some companies and researchers are thinking differently.

Taking the road less travelled is inevitably a balance of risk and reward with plenty of challenges to overcome, which by definition is part of what makes oncology new product development such a challenging yet stimulating area…

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ASCO23 Preview 1 – W2W4 in Developmental Therapeutics

Springing between meetings

This time of year always brings a flurry of data across different conferences as we start winding up our AACR coverage, spring forward to the ASCO abstract title drop and prepare for the forthcoming ASGCT meeting.

Of course, much like the weather of late there are always uncertainties involved when looking at abstract titles.

We may know, for example, that certain trials have been announced as positive having met their pre-defined criteria, but as to the exact magnitude of the effect and how much benefit is actually offered in terms of outcomes is another story entirely!

It would be impossible to review all of the meeting in one go, hence we’ll be offering a series of snapshots and discussion highlighting different key topics over the next few weeks.

Here are our notes on the first one in the series…

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AACR23 Insights on gems from the poster halls – Part 1

At AACR annual meetings there is a phenomenal number of posters on display, truly a smorgasbord of up and coming agents and targets relevant to cancer research.

I can still remember the trials and tribulations traveling from the UK to Boston as a PhD student on a limited budget to present a poster at a major US conference, so would like to congratulate all the young researchers with posters at this year’s AACR meeting. Presenting at an international meeting is a big deal and this year was the first time post-pandemic many could easily travel without restriction.

Fishing for gems in the poster halls

With several thousand posters to choose from the selection of what caught our interest is, by definition, subjective.

We’ve chosen to focus on new products in development or novel targets.

In part one of our AACR gems from the poster hall, we have 10 posters from emerging biotech companies with early stage data.

For each poster we’ve highlighted what we liked about the data, what to watch out for, and what our overall impressions were relative to some of the competition.  Not all of them will make it through to phase 3, but some could show some initial promise.

If you haven’t finished your AACR23 trip report and want a few suggestions of what you might have missed or what emerging agents could be highlighted, this post may be for you.

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AACR23 – Is there an ADC renaissance on the horizon?

Orlando – the AACR annual meeting provides a window into future cancer drug development, and this year’s meeting is no exception.

As AACR23 comes to an end in sunny Orlando, we’re taking a closer look at the next generation of ADC’s in early development and some of the data presented at AACR23.

Companies are always looking for new ways to overcome resistance pathways or provide novel combination strategies. Will the next generation compounds in development lead to a continued renaissance in the ADC field?

There’s certainly plenty to think about if you are a new products or business development professional…

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