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

Translating Scientific Insights into Competitive Advantage

When a precise landing is important…

One of the many challenges with discovery and preclinical presentations at a scientific congress is anyone who is not a professional drug hunter themselves can easily miss important subtleties and nuances.

To overcome this, what we sought to achieve in this latest write-up and candid expert interview was a more everyday discussion with a young up and coming biotech around several key areas:

  • The specific challenges the field has faced.
  • Why are Nested Therapeutics doing what they are doing – differently?
  • What the potential impact of their chosen strategies might be.

In this way, we aim to bring the complex science to life in a more easily understandable and digestible fashion…

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How creative thinking can turn our heads

Bullish or bearish?

For the longest time many folks have been rather bearish when it comes to drugging seemingly intractable targets in oncology.

It doesn’t always have to be this way though.

Lately, our perceptions have been slowly changing over time as scientists find new ways to tackle the R&D equivalent of the north face of the Eiger for the first time without modern technological advances.

The annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is often a good place to start when it comes to hearing about novel approaches to turn our heads.

In this report, we take a look at some inspired thinking with a fresh look at the science behind what could become a new target to aim at…

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On biomarkers and bispecifics

It’s lonely out there sometimes

Have you often wondered about the challenges of going into the unknown with phase 1 or even phase 3 trials for cancer?

Sometimes it seems like the summer crowds packing Bournemouth beach and you can’t find any space or place to sit, while others are more akin to the lonely buoy marking an empty beach.

Today’s oncology target has seen both extremes in its time with breathless hype followed by the depths of despair and lost interest from many of the madding crowds.

It’s still going though, with phase 3 readouts awaited and new competitors still entering the landscape.

There’s also some emerging science, including biomarker data to explore…

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When the going gets tough

Walking into stormy waters may require some chutzpah

Sometimes oncology new product development can be fascinating to watch from the sidelines.  There are always up and downs as well as many hurdles and challenges to address.

In a relatively short time the B cell malignancy niche has become a highly crowded space full of tough competitors, with numerous T cell engagers and CAR-T cell therapies already approved and more coming along.

If you’re late to any given market then you will need to stand out as the best-in-class in order to succeed.

There are some companies who execute flawlessly, others well, they can have a rather bad habit of shooting themselves in the foot when least expected…

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Cancer’s Tiny Doppelgangers

Letting the genie out in San Diego

In our penultimate preview of the AACR24 meeting in San Diego – there’s one more to come folks – we take a look at another emerging trend at the meeting, which has impact for those involved drug discovery.

AACR is very much a window into the future of cancer research.

Thanks to the power of AI/ML computing technologies, what was once an obscure research tool is now starting to impact drug development as commercial companies begin to use it for the identification of novel targets.

In this post, we’ve not only highlighted abstracts and sessions of interest around this emerging area, but also compare, contrast, discuss the opportunities and limitations, then explain why this is something you should definitely be watching out for if you are involved in oncology new product development.

Stay tuned for our final AACR24 Preview coming later this week!

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Just can’t get enough

Gone Fishing!

The dawn of the 1980s represented a much more optimistic future than what it eventually turned out to be – will we see the same trend evolve with the seemingly myriad of attempts to box in certain cancer targets?

In some ways this has turned into a bit of a fishing expedition in several ways:

  • Uncovering mechanisms of resistance
  • Finding rational combinations with a decent therapeutic window
  • Developing next generation agents to address the limitations of the earlier versions

If we want to see success in the clinic then what might this look like in the next round of trials and who are the companies active in developing them?

It turns out there are a few surprises in store…

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Molecular Jiu-Jitsu – Turning Cancer’s Mistakes Against Itself

What’s emerging next from the AACR box?

Synthetic lethality has always seemed a great idea on paper, yet the very nature of tumour complexity has frequently hampered our efforts to make the most of the scientific premise.

There’s a new kid on the block now with an altogether much clearer proposition on offer.

There are also several of these compounds already in the clinic with a raft of others pursuing them in preclinical development.

What’s not to like?

In our second major update on this class of agents, today’s story takes a look at where we are, what’s coming up, and where we’re headed in the context of what needs to be accomplished…

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A dozen early stage clinical trials to watch out for at AACR24

Who’s packing a punch this year?

In 2011 we did an annual ASCO highlight video reel of what to watch out for. Three phase 1 antibodies were included as a potentially exciting new theme to watch out for. Oh, the brickbats and insults I received in my inbox!

Immunotherapy was not de rigeur back then by any stretch of the imagination and people were absolutely furious because it was so way out and bucked the prevailing trend of the day.

Those drugs now generate billions in revenue every quarter between them. Phooey to the naysayers 😉

In our latest AACR 2024 Preview we highlight a dozen early stage clinical developments to watch out for… will some of them pack an unexpected punch?

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An unexpected surprise!

Time for a fishing expedition or two

In our fifth preview from the AACR annual meeting being held in San Diego next month, we noticed some intriguing surprises emerging from one class of agents currently being studied both preclinically, as well as in the clinic.

What are they – and why do they matter?

Quite simply, once the implications are understood they may help us understand where the field is headed in the near to medium term – and why some particular combinations might yield some interesting findings…

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10 things I learned about ADCs at AACR 2024

San Diego bound for AACR 2024!

In our fourth AACR 2024 preview we’ve going to highlight some emerging trends you should watch out for. We took a look across over 130 abstracts and in an unbiased fashion, delved into the weeds to see what would shake out.

The findings were interesting to say the least:

Some expected, some unexpected surprises, others puzzling, a few provocative ones made me stop and think more about their approach.

It’s all here, black and white…

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