Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts tagged ‘NeoVax’

Une Baguette Magique

Quote of the Day from Tower Hill Tube station a couple of years ago is rather apt when comparing different cancer therapies

Every novel cancer immunotherapy has its day in the limelight, although it obviously goes without saying we shouldn’t compare them unless in a head-to-head trial.

What if the comparisons are made using the wrong parameters, however?

Well, this just compounds the problem further and does neither product nor company or researchers any justice.

This time around we continue the latest chapter in an story we have been following for several years now before it was really in many people’s conscience.

Sometimes it helps to go back to the beginning to see how far things have come, other times it is more useful to look in a broader context of the space it is competing in.

In this latest installment we attempt a look at both plus offer some commentary on how it could be viewed…

 

To learn more about the latest immunotherapy data and get a heads up on our oncology commentary and insights, subscribers can log-in or you can click to gain access to BSB Premium Content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

On finding new targets and boosting existing therapies

Science drives oncology new product development and the AACR special conferences are always a good place to look for insights into where the field is both emerging and also going in the future.

At the recent AACR Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy conference, several presentations stood out for us as being noteworthy for either building on an existing story or the new perspectives they offered, some of which involved new targets we’d not heard before.

In this post, we take a take at some of the data presented, how it builds upon what we already know, and possible directions it may take us in.  After all, the best way to predict the future is to invent it.

It’s time to shine some light on novel targets, biomarkers, and emerging combination approaches…

To learn more from our oncology analysis and get a heads up on the latest insights and commentary, subscribers can log-in or you can click to gain access to BSB Premium Content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

New developments in neoantigen vaccines

Times Square, New York

New York – Every now and then you go to a cancer conference and instead of hearing the expected standard talk that is repeated time and time again for a season or so, you are delighted with a more engaging and uninhibited approach that captivates and informs on the latest state of the art progress.

It also means that more than the presenter realises is perhaps shared.  That’s very good news indeed for intrepid science writers and anyone who cares to listen or read.

The research mentioned in today’s post falls in the engaged and delighted category…

To learn more from our latest assessment and get a heads up on our oncology insights, subscribers can log-in or you can click to gain access to BSB Premium Content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

 

 

 

Does Neon Therapeutics lead the Neoantigen field?

View of Cambridge and Charles River

Neon Therapeutics is based in Cambridge, MA

One of the much anticipated cancer immunotherapy presentations at the 2017 JP Morgan Healthcare conference was by Neon Therapeutics CEO Hugh O’Dowd.

As readers know we’re riding the Immuno-Oncology wave on Biotech Strategy Blog, and one of the exciting new topics to emerge is whether we can target neoantigens to create personalized immunotherapy.

Our mini-series last year on neonatigens received a lot of attention. It included a primer and three interviews. We were very much of the opinion that Neon Therapeutics is a company to watch out for.

In case you missed them, here are the links:

I highly recommending reading these articles as background on the science and new product development as a prelude to the latest commercialisation update we will cover in today’s post.

What did we learn from the 2017 JP Morgan presentation of the Neon Therapeutics corporate strategy?

If you didn’t make it to the presentation at JPM17 in San Francisco (it wasn’t webcast), you may be interested in this post. This is the latest update in our on-going series on neoantigens and why they matter in cancer immunotherapy.

Subscribers can log-in to read our latest insights or you can gain access to BSB Premium Content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

NEON shines the light on Neoantigen targeted Cancer Immunotherapy

As we continue our journey exploring neoantigens in the context of novel cancer research in Part 3 of our latest mini-series, today we focus on the commercialisation side of the business through an interview with a leading investor, Dr Cary Pfeffer, who is a partner in Third Rock Ventures, as well as being ad interim CEO of Neon Therapeutics.  We’ve written about other Third Rock companies in the past; Agios, Foundation Medicine and bluebird bio come to mind, for example.

neonlogoHow does an exciting early product in development move from academia to industry? There are many ways to do this, so here is the story through the eyes of one young company with strong academic connections, as a way to illustrate what can be done. It isn’t the only way, by any means.

To be sure, there are other competitor companies in the neoantigen space – Gritstone and Moderna come to mind as examples – we will cover companies in the broader landscape in a future post. There is also an incredible amount of promising research going on in academia right now, which may lead to more companies or products being licensed and developed.

To learn more about what Cary Pfeffer had to say on Neon Therapeutics and neoantigens, subscribers can log-in.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Can neoantigen vaccines make a difference in cancer research?

Westminster Hall Stained GlassThis week we’re focusing on neoantigens, what role they have to play in cancer immunotherapy and novel approaches that identify and use them as a therapeutic modality.

When you look at the cancer immunotherapy landscape it’s like looking at a stained glass window – it’s not only about the light but seeing the patterns and way the glass is aesthetically arranged in order to make it effective.

Today’s post, the second in a mini-series of three, features an interview with a thought leader doing pioneering work at the forefront of how neoantigen based vaccines can be used to target solid tumors.

The field of vaccine based cancer immunotherapy research is attracting renewed interest from VCs, angel investors and academics because of it’s potential to be used in combination with other immunotherapies.

If you’d like to learn why, then you can purchase access. Subscribers can login to read more.

This content is restricted to subscribers

SITC 2015 – what did we learn from the cancer immunotherapy workshops?

National Harbor, MD.  Today was a busy day with the ASH abstracts coming out this morning, and some ground-breaking data that demanded an immediate #ASH15 preview post.

At the same time we’re here at SITC, and keeping an eye on the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets meeting – it’s like three buses come at once!

So what happened at SITC today? In this post we’ve put a quick summary of some of the presentations we heard on Day 2 that stood out.  Sometimes what’s most important is what people don’t say.

To learn more insights on this intriguing topic, subscribers can log-in or you can purchase access to BSB Premium Content. 

This content is restricted to subscribers

error: Content is protected !!