Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts tagged ‘CDK4/6 inhibitors’

What did we learn about ALRN-6924 at ESMO19?

Oncology R&D is very much a tale of two cities. At one end you have all big pharmas and biotechs with significant resources in the form of very large budgets, (hopefully) an extensive pipeline, plus many hands on deck to efficiently spread the workload, while at the other end you have what I call the ‘baby’ biotechs with completely the opposite situation coupled with a much greater need for prudence in how those scarcer resources are managed.

A failed drug development may not affect big pharmas very much, it’s written in to the strategic plans after all, and a 90% failure rate is very much de rigeur so you’re looking for the rare gems that will shine and carry the rest. In small biotechland, such inherent risks are much more prominent – and drastic – because a failed program can wipe out the stock overnight such that future endeavours to raise money are greatly hampered, putting the very life of the company at risk of not only delisting (if publicly traded) from stock exchanges such as NASDAQ, but also the ultimate doom.

The constraint that both bookends have in common, however, is familiar to many readers – how to get the best shots on goal given the time, energy, and resources available?

At BSB we don’t write just about big Pharma – we also try to highlight the roller coaster experienced at the other end of the spectrum and showcase some cool science in the process. Given our interest in stapled proteins as well as the various challenges associated with both tumour suppressors and MDM2, it seemed like a good idea to catch up with the folks at Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALRN) and learn more about their progress since they combine all three elements in one go…. it’s time for some gems from the ESMO19 poster hall.

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New directions in HR-positive breast cancer

It’s time to talk about new developments in breast cancer.

@3NT with Dr Dennis Slamon at ESMO19

This week we will be featuring thought leader interviews with two breast cancer specialists as we look at new data in different subsets of this disease, in both early and metastatic settings.

We like to ring the changes with invited guests on BSB who comment on trial results and offer broader perspectives on their specialist field as well.

One expert is someone neither of us has ever interviewed before, while the other returns for an update on an early trial that is showing promise. Both interviews were conducted under embargo ahead of their presentations in Barcelona.

One of the myriad of challenges in oncology R&D is the tendency to begin exploration in the most advanced form of the disease with monotherapy to determine single agent activity and then work up to earlier lines of therapy with combinations evolving over time.

While it is always good to see proof that people are living longer with particular approaches, there is a real need to keep one’s eyes out on the horizon for new developments that may extend overall survival further.

What should those regimens look like and what are rational choices based on the underlying biology of the disease rather than being explored because that’s what a particular sponsor happens to have in their pipeline? We were delighted to have the opportunity for a much broader discussion some of these opportunities with today’s key opinion leader, Dr Dennis Slamon of UCLA, who presented data in an ESMO Presidential symposium and also talked about other topics in breast cancer research with BSB.

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ESMO19 Day 3 Highlights and Commentary

Morning, morning, where’s the strong hot java today?

Barcelona – Here we are on the third day of ESMO 2019 and this is where many presenters and attendees (especially international ones) start to hit the wall with a combination of tiredness, sore feet, late nights, lack of coffee, and jet lag all combine to create a perfect storm of exhaustion.

No matter – the conference schedule marches on!

After the craziness of posting not one, but three, extensive long form posts with commentary and analysis yesterday, I’m delighted to only have to worry about managing the daily highlights today. We’ve also been busy conducting interviews, running round the poster halls and listening to some elegant science talks as well.

If you’ve missed the rest of our ESMO19 coverage, it’s building up nicely so far on this magazine page – do check it out and take your pick of topics to browse.

There are some key phase 3 readouts expected in breast cancer alone, plus a raft of Developmental Therapeutic updates to ponder as well.

As usual, we start off with some known highlights and then move on to updating on oncologic developments that catch our attention through the day.

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Highlights of Day 1 of ASCO19

The 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Twitter #ASCO19) is now in full swing, and we’re kicking off our on-site meeting coverage with a review of the some of the highlights of Friday here in Chicago.

In today’s Daily Highlights we offer seven areas of interest and offer commentary on the insights gleaned from the data that is rolling out so far…

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SABCS17 Update on CDK4/6 Inhibitors

It’s one of those truly crazy busy times of the year with no less than three cancer conferences going on this week alone in different cities and time zones. I’ve also been busy scheduling and conducting phone interviews for these events.  More than once have I dialled the wrong number or access code or got briefly confused by time zone changes (CT and CEST?!) and misread the interview at the wrong time… and was that 4.30pm ET or CT?

River Walk, San Antonio, Texas

One of those… If it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium moments to be sure.

Thankfully, everyone has been very thoughtful and helpful and I haven’t managed to get the expert names incorrect (yet)!

Today, I want to take a break from the ASH17 coverage and switch horses from hematologic malignancies to breast cancer and from Atlanta to San Antonio, as there is some important new data emerging from the Lone Star state.

In particular, one of the top posts of 2016 on BSB was on CDK4/6 inhibitors so it’s time for an update on this and some other key studies!

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AACR 2017 Preview 7

The White House in spring, Washington DC

With spring in the air and the clock rapidly running down on the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Washington DC in just two weeks time, it’s time to take a look at the seventh topic in our Preview series.

What’s hot on deck to day?

With increasing competition in the metastatic breast cancer space, particularly in HR+ HER2- disease, it’s time to explore key issues around CDK4/6 inhibitors as there’s a lot going on here, including some important presentations ahead.

A road map of what to expect and what to watch out for is often valuable if you want to avoid surprises.

We also examine key issues the companies here are facing as well as highlighting emerging scientific and clinical data of note on several relevant fronts.

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