Blog | Biotech Strategy Blog

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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What happens when an intractable target becomes druggable-ish

A fish eye view of the market

In the third of our Preview series from this year’s AACR meeting, we’re taking a look at an early, if rapidly evolving competitive landscape involving several different modalities – proving there’s often more than one way to ~~skin a cat~~ drug a particular target!

When we last covered this topic there were barely half a dozen developments to highlight, since then this niche has rapidly exploded with a variety of molecules and different companies to add to the mix.

Some key questions facing this field include how will we move on from dose escalation studies, what combinations will make sound sense, and which modalities might offer a wider therapeutic window in order to be combinable with other approaches? People will always have favourites, so we took an unbiased look at the state of play.

It’s never as easy as it first appears…

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The dirty little secret biotechs don’t tell you

Do not feed the alligators is a common sign seen in the hammock areas of Florida where brackish fresh water abounds.

It has always amazed me people might even consider getting close enough to see them since common sense would tell you to beat a hasty and instant retreat from those big toothy maws!

Similarly in biotechland sometimes there are warning signs aplenty and yet people still ignore them, preferring to focus on the good.

Today’s story is a cautionary one where, much like with those “Do not feed the alligators” signs, researchers and investors might be wiser to heed certain warnings rather than focusing solely on what initially appears to be positive data.

Ignore the warning signs at your peril…

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