Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts from the ‘Lung Cancer’ category

How the immune response to cancer can be shaped by the nature of the cancer cells

Not in San Diego – In normal times of past years, the AACR annual meeting generally takes place once a year in April before we haed onto oter events such as ASGCT, ASCO, and EHA. In these abnormal times in the middle of the COVID–19 pandemic, however, the virtual event was split into two, with the first online event in April covering mainly early clinical data, and now we get to learn from the meaty scientific presentations, which are being highlighted this week.

A network of mutations, tumour suppresses, metabolic and immune processes, as well as other hidden factors can unexpectedly impact therapy outcomes in NSCLC

We have a lot of translational researchers reading BSB, so I wanted to kick off the first of the AACR Virtual Meeting series with a scientific focus, which is likely of interest to many for a number of obvious reasons.

The good news is this a topic we have covered before and so there’s already a body of work to build on for reference since this latest round of information not only adds to what we know, but also highlights some additional unknown unknowns yet to be elucidated.

The dichotomy is an essential part of the very essence and fun of science – the more we think we know, the less we really know in practice, especially as the various layers of the onion get gradually peeled off over time.

This latest review mixes up translational research with clinical research…

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Insights on osimertinib in 1L NSCLC from the lens of the FLAURA trial

Barcelona – It seems only in only four years we have gone from discussing the phase 1 osimertinib data in EGFRm lung cancer with one Boston expert to reviewing the survival data from the phase 3 study with another expert from the same city… how time flies!

Today was a crazy day with multiple different embargoes lifting at different times so to make things simpler we carved out three different tracks to make it easier for readers to focus and follow the stories they are most interested in.

The KRASG12C clinical trial readouts continue apace with a look at the new non-lung cancer data. That post already went live at 1.30am ET if you’re looking for that evolving story.  The main highlights post with a daily running live blog and multiple updates throughout the day can be found here.

Meanwhile this particular post will contain everything related to osimertinib and the FLAURA trial, as well as where we are on uncovering resistance mechanisms. To get started we have a new press release to look at as well as some independent expert commentary to put the data in context.

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The many faces of lung cancer

The many faces of lung cancer requires an appreciation of nuance in treatment

Barcelona – Many observers seem to so be single mindedly focused on immunotherapies of late that they may well be forgiven that, hey, there’s still much going on the world of targeted therapies!

If there is one thing we can learn from the lung cancer (and CML) communities it is their dedication to identifying resistance mechanisms and along with them, novel targets for subsequent therapy in order to set about improving outcomes for people with the disease.

As a result, lung cancer can now be segmented into many subsets, each requiring careful consideration of appropriate therapy options, not only in newly diagnosed disease, but also what to do with subsequent lines of therapy.

In this review, our third from the WCLC 2019 meeting, we pull together a lot of disparate loose ends on targeted therapies and draw some important themes together…

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Is the BMS CheckMate-227 trial a hit or miss in lung cancer?

Yesterday afternoon BMS provided an announcement and update on the controversial phase 3 CheckMate-227 trial in first line non-small cell lung cancer (NDCLC).

Lightning bolt

Does lightning strike twice?

This large study compares the combinations of nivolumab with either ipilimumab or chemotherapy to chemotherapy alone in both squamous and non-squamous patients with previously untreated advanced disease.

Ahead of the data presentation what can we expect and what will the impact be on the broader landscape?

There is no doubt that BMS have had a chequered history in lung cancer since the miss with the earlier CheckMate-026 study. Is their run of missteps over or can we expect yet more controversy to befall them?

In our latest analysis we take a look at what going on in this niche.

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Targeting neutrophils for cancer immunotherapy

If we want to help more patients respond to initial immune checkpoint blockade then we not only need to figure out why some people respond initially but stop responding, but also look at why the majority do not respond upfront.

The reasons might take on many forms depending on the defects in their immune system that the cancer might have hijacked to its advantage.

One obvious way is increased immunosuppression and a more hostile tumour microenvironment. In the past, we have looked at the adenosine fog, as well as the cytokine, TGF-beta, as two quite different ways where the tumours might be impacted in terms of their responsiveness to therapeutic intervention.

In our latest mini-series this week, we are going to explore additional ways that cause non-response to cancer immunotherapy due to immunosuppression and how companies – big and small – are investigating novel therapeutic approaches in this niche based on the underlying biology of the disease.

We begin our journey with a look at neutrophils from the eyes of a researcher who is an expert in this field and how an understanding of the science has led to new novel targets with even some early stage compounds in the clinic already…

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Learning from failure with IO combos

AstraZeneca miss on OS in the phase 3 MYSTIC trial – what next?

Getting there… in 1L NSCLC

At one point we were posting almost quarterly updates on the runners and riders in the 1L NSCLC niche and what a roller coaster it has turned out to be!

There have been some successes, failures, and even mixed results so far, suggesting that there’s no room for complacency here.

Previously, AstraZeneca were the first to readout out on PFS in the MYSTIC trial and missed, meaning they had to go to the back of the queue and patiently await the OS data. Since then, we’ve seen several phase 3 trials from Merck, Genentech/Roche and BMS all readout without any real rhyme, reason or consistency between them.

Now AstraZeneca are back in the spotlight with a not altogether unexpected miss on median OS.

It’s easy for people to kick a dog when it’s down rather than take a moment to reflect on the deeper meaning – what does the result mean both for the company and other key players in this highly competitive landscape? What can we learn from this experience and other recent results?

To answer that, we put some insights and analysis together in our latest update on the space…

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An update on key SCLC trials

It’s time for a BSB subscribers Q&A!

We haven’t done a mailbag for a while as things have been pretty hectic, but the end of a week is often a good time to consider this.

Here we take another look at the dismal, if very slowly evolving, SCLC landscape… there are some disturbances in the force here as well as some good and bad news to ponder.

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WCLC2018 Roundup of key lung cancer data

Toronto Skyline for WCLC

There’s a lot going on in lung cancer of late, especially with the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) taking place in Toronto this week.

Following on from our recent preview, it’s time to take a look at the actual data presented and make an assessment on progress with both targeted and immunotherapies.

Here we offer some thoughts and insights on 16 key trials that were presented…

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Preview of WCLC 2018 – what’s new in lung cancer?

Picking out gems from the weeds

It’s time for a pre-meeting preview as we head into the busy Fall cancer conference season.

First up is the IASLC organised World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) being held in Toronto later this month.

We provide a review of some of the key abstracts and highlight some of the interesting topics to watch out for.

Updates will follow later once the data is presented as many of the abstracts are embargoed until the day of presentation.

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Fitting it all together – what does the post ASCO Lung Cancer Landscape look like?

It is always a pleasure to talk with experts who have a clear vision of not just what the current treatment landscape looks like, but where the field is going.

Dr Stephen Liu at ASCO18

Dr Stephen Liu is a medical oncologist and assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC, where he specializes in thoracic oncology.  He’s also actively involved in clinical trials and developmental therapeutics.

We last interviewed him at ASCO 2016 – you can also hear him on Episode 13 of the Novel Targets Podcast – where he shared his thoughts on some of the early lung cancer immunotherapy combination trials underway.

As regular readers know, we like to follow stories over time and also catch up with thoughtful, intelligent people we’ve talked to in the past whose opinions we value.

Dr Liu kindly shared his highlights of ASCO 2018 in lung cancer, and in a wide ranging discussion, also offered some thoughts on what the future may hold and where we may be going next.

There was a lot to learn from Chicago this year, with plenty of nuances and subtleties to consider. If you read only one post on lung cancer from ASCO18, this interview tells you all you need to know!

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