Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts tagged ‘Bispecific antibodies’

Playing with fire

Are we playing with fire – again?

A few years ago, Dr Philippe Armand at Dana Farber used this very colourful phrase accompanied by ‘rip roaring toxicities’ when describing autoimmune type reactions his institution had seen in patients with hematologic malignancies who had received prior allo SCT (see more here).

Now we’re starting to see more evidence emerge for improved activity with next generation bispecifics accompanied by lethalities.

Finding the balance between the two is proving to be something akin to a tightrope across the Niagara Falls without a safety net.

With so many runners and riders in the IO niche, it’s often hard to tell who will be the winner

Checkpoint blockade, CAR-T cells and fusion proteins haven’t been the only ones to struggle with this challenge, since bispecifics are also an immunotherapy approach capable of inducing some potent, if unwanted immune effects.

Here we look at the challenge in the bispecific arena with a focus on some recent events…

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Tilting at windmills

Sometimes I wonder when we are faced with particularly difficult challenges in oncology – there are certainly plenty of these to go around – if people give up before they start and consider certain endeavours far too difficult and thus any emergent approaches are considered tilting at windmills.

What if we could isolate and define the problem more specifically, thereby identifying where new targets might lie and then go about designing ways to tackle them?

When we do this the problem at hand is much more specific and less amorphous.

Here, we highlight and explore a key topic likely to be lurking in many abstracts over the next week across both hematologic malignancies and solid tumours alike… it’s an important subject many will ignore at their peril.

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Off the beaten track in the bispecific landscape

After the initial focus on five areas to watch out for in the bispecific field at AACR22, we now turn our attention to a much broader and deeper look at the emerging landscape.

In this preview we highlight many of the new targets and molecules coming through company pipelines, some of which are likely to be licensing-in candidates for bigger companies seeking to replenish their pipelines.

It occurred to me this scenario is a bit like finding a hidden path you never knew existed, with rows of boats (or bispecifics in this case) lined up for inspection…

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5 important topics to watch out for at AACR22 on bispecifics

In the first part of our bispecific antibody review from the AACR front (the second will post next week), we highlight some strategic issues of interest to the field through the lens of several company’s data being presented at the meeting.

When we look at the themes of the meeting (right) we learn about the focus for this year’s event:

  • Decoding cancer complexity
  • Integrating science
  • Transforming patient outcomes

These are all particularly relevant to the the bispecific niche because whilst there are many of them, not all will make it to the finish line if they fail to improve outcomes and some will be consigned to the dreaded dog drug heaven status.

Think about it – you can have the grooviest bispecific molecule design ever, but if people taking it don’t live longer then it will likely get canned down the road in order to make way for a new era of novel targets and agents.

It’s time for some weekend reading – in the first part of our look at the bispecific antibody space, we highlight five key elements (with examples) to watch out for…

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A review of the emerging bispecific landscape

We have come a long way from our last discussion about the bispecific antibody landscape going into the ASH20 meeting, with the current update on the field barely including any of those established agents, such is the pace of progress in less than a year!

Of course, part of difference lies in the old liquid versus solid tumour settings, where different tools or targets are needed for each one.

The good news is there are a lot of new players to look at, both private and public, emerging biotech and established pharma companies.

Some of the evolving trends which emerged from our latest analysis surprised even the seasoned observers at BSB, which is no bad thing at all.

So what’s in store from our latest in-depth review going into SITC 2021?

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AACR21 Preview 8 – The growing bispecific niche

The first virtual 2021 AACR annual meeting starts tomorrow in earnest and we’ll be posting throughout the conference with various highlights and analysis.

There’s an explosion of new targets, novel combinatorial partners, expanding strategies and even an increasing number of companies entering the bispecific niche beyond the regular players we have covered in the past.

In our final Preview post we’re highlighting some of the AACR21 presentations which caught our attention, the science behind them, and some of questions we hope to see answered.

Stay tuned for our conference coverage and post meeting interviews!

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How bispecifics will make an impact in myeloma

With all the time and attention surrounding the BCMA-based products in multiple myeloma, including ADCs and CAR-T cell therapies, it’s easy to forget there are other approaches coming down the pike.

Building new mosaics and novel regimens in myeloma is coming

Beyond the hullabaloo there are various bispecific antibodies and T cell engagers in early stage development – not only is the modality different, but the targets might differ too.

How are all of these novel approaches doing in the clinic and how might they all fit together in future regimens? The myeloma world as we know it of proteasome inhibitors and IMiDs may not yet be a thing of the past, but the landscape is certainly changing.

In our third installment of the myeloma mini-series, we tackle these issues and look at near and medium term strategic directions, which can be considered and how these might impact different combination approaches and lines of therapy in order to further improve outcomes in this disease.

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A critical review of bispecific antibodies at ASH20

We are big fans of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, it certainly is the global meeting for hematology! The quality of research presented is very high; it’s where you see groundbreaking and practice changing hematology data, sometimes from unexpected sources.

Last year brought us long lines, crowded escalators, and jam packed halls, especially for the niche sessions.  It’s hard to imagine any of these in pandemic these days, especially if someone were to start suddenly coughing and sneezing in the seat behind…

A bit of nostalgia from ASH19: Up close and personal

Will we all be together again for #ASH21? According to virology experts, we’ll need 70% of people (around the world, not just in one country!) to have had a COVID-19 vaccine before we can lower our masks and do away with social distancing.

Even if 70% of health care professionals are vaccinated, a not unrealistic figure if you look at the flu vaccine uptake, going to an in-person meeting means you still have to navigate the cumulative risk associated with airports, flights, hotels, ground transportation, plus eating out in an urban environment where the very visible inequality that exists in America means it is highly unlikely everyone you may come into contact with, directly or indirectly, will be vaccinated.

There’s also the uncertainty of how durable any vaccination is, raising the prospect that any COVID-19 vaccination is unlikely to be “once and done” – will we all need boosts six months later? The logistics for all of this are just mind blowing.

Despite the exhortations from ASH leadership that they look forward to seeing us in Georgia next year at #ASH21 and we should all plan to be there, as things stand we don’t recommend booking your flights to Atlanta and #ASH21 just yet.

BSB expects 2021 to be another year of virtual meetings!

Meanwhile, on with the business of exploring the emerging data from ASH 20.

In this latest post, we are highlighting a few of the presentations that caught our attention on the various bispecific antibodies and T cell engagers in advanced lymphomas and multiple myeloma…

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ASH20 Preview of progress with bispecific antibodies

After a totally crazy last week, I must say it’s a tremendous relief to get back to focusing on science and early stage clinical development!

Behind the all the ongoing political and Covid-19 furore, the ASH abstracts dropped unexpectedly early on November 4th instead of Bonfire Night and this week it’s the start of the SITC meeting with live presentations already starting.

Every year we post a series of Previews highlighting key data to watch out for on key selected topics. The focus varies with each meeting with a look at different targets, modalities, or tumour types. This year we’re kicking off our coverage with a focused look at bispecific antibodies in early development…

Are bispecifics flying high at ASH20?

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Are gamma delta T cells ready yet for prime time?

Not in San Diego: We took a close look at the potential for targeting gamma delta (𝞬𝝳) T cells early last year in an extended mini-series looking at the landscape including some of the early companies leading the way in this niche.

Since then there’s been a raft of company related announcements and collaborations in recent months, highlighting the ongoing interest in this field.

In this post, it’s time to revisit the original landscape (link), as well as explore how well some of the biotech companies who are active in this space are navigating the R&D roller coaster.

We will also be discussing recent data presented at the AACR20 virtual meetings.

So what did we learn about gamma delta T Cell therapies at AACR20 – who stands out from the increasingly crowded pack?

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