Biotech Strategy Blog

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

Posts tagged ‘olaparib’

Shining a beacon

Shining a beacon on key GI trials

After covering a lot of science of late it’s now time to review some recent clinical data, discuss some of the implications of the findings, and their potential impact.

After all, science doesn’t exist in a vacuum and how it translates into outcomes in people living with cancer is an important part of the process.

Can we help them live longer and feel better are two important questions to ask when looking at study readouts.

Let’s not forget there’s quite a difference when considering the exposure of light from a lighthouse beacon versus a typical torch.

The former is designed to produce an extremely powerful, far-reaching beam that can propagate over long distances. A torch has much more modest lighting capabilities suitable for short-range use. The exact brightness difference depends on the specific lighthouse and torch, but it can reasonably be assumed the lighthouse beam is orders of magnitude more intense.

In a similar fashion, we need to look at phase 1 and 3 trials through different lenses, just as we ought to do with the potential 14th agent to market versus the first…

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Scaling the ESMO23 ramparts

Scaling the ramparts in Real Madrido

In our last ESMO23 Preview ahead of the live meeting starting on Friday, we highlight another eight targets to watch out for where there will be intriguing data dropping out from Madrid over the weekend.

More than just the data though, is consideration for the implications of the findings and how they can impact a particular tumour landscape.

One thing to note is just because a company highlights what they consider to be positive data doesn’t always mean it is actually so when you look carefully at the small print.

Not surprisingly there are a few examples of this genre at the forthcoming conference…

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

What’s hot in lung cancer?

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore

With the abstract titles now available for the World Congress in Lung Cancer (WCLC), it’s time to take a look at what we can expect for the meeting coming up in early September.

In our latest conference Preview, we have highlighted several education sessions to look at, as well as ten key oral presentations to watch out for…

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis, BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Divvying it up at ASCO23

There’s more than one way to look at data despite the same top line results

Beyond the obvious, what else was coming out at ASCO this year?

It’s time to divvy up the spoils and explore some intriguing trial results not in the mainstream consciousness.

Well there is one major trial we critique in this latest review, although perhaps with a rather different take on the data as it could be considered in a more controversial light when you look at the details.

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis, BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

The road less travelled

The path less travelled can take us in interesting and unknown directions

We often talk about innovation on BSB and how hard it is to blaze a new path in oncology drug development.

Sometimes what it requires is a different way to think about a target or a new approach to modulating a pathway.

In our latest post AACR23 review, we are taking a closer look at more gems from the poster hall and how some companies and researchers are thinking differently.

Taking the road less travelled is inevitably a balance of risk and reward with plenty of challenges to overcome, which by definition is part of what makes oncology new product development such a challenging yet stimulating area…

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Changing of the guard

A frequent challenge in oncology R&D is the fast paced nature of pipeline development such that there’s always something cool or new coming along nipping at the heels of those further ahead in clinical development coupled with the changing of the broader landscape before you even get to market.

What this means is companies with agents in phase 2 development can frequently feel rather squeezed between the two extremes.

This can lead to a lot of pondering on whether they will have enough innovation to make an impact on whatever are the favoured approaches by the time they might get to market, while at the same time offering sufficient protection against the novel compounds coming along behind.  Obviously no one drug is perfect and each will have their own achilles heels, to add to the mix and uncertainty.

For some time now there hasn’t been much in the form of new approaches in prostate cancer beyond the myriad of androgen receptor antagonists in various treatment niches plus the PARP inhibitors in a select population of men with BRCA mutations… what then?

A big question targeted therapies often have to address is their impressive initial response rates and PFS based on RECIST measurements don’t always translate into people living longer, as measured by overall survival.  No drug is without toxicities either, which means these need to be factored into the final clinical decision making and can make or break early uptake more than initially realised.

In our latest review we highlight some examples of where the field might be headed next (or not), based on some new preclinical and clinical data presented…

To continue reading our latest highlights on oncology new product development including commentary and analysis, BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Going beyond PARP1/2 inhibition with novel approaches

Immune cells and tumour cells can act like a changing kaleidoscope depending on the situation

While we have seen many studies on the mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to small molecule inhibitors leading to rational combination therapies, our understanding of what’s going on under the hood in response to protein degradation or immunotherapies is much less certain.

In our latest post, we explore how these worlds are now starting to collide and how tumour behavior at the time of resistance can better inform translational studies as well as future clinical combinations.

While there have been numerous studies emerging on the dual IO-IO front, let’s not forget there are still many opportunities to explore synergies with small molecule agents to address mechanisms of resistance…

To continue reading our latest discussion on oncology new product development plus expert commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Making your mind up

Time for some commentary and review of ESMO highlights and lowlights from Paris

One of the fascinating aspects of the PARP inhibitor niche is how often the results across several different company trials have gone the same way more often than not.

This has been a rather unusual streak, let’s face it.

At some point I was half expecting the wheels to fall off the wagon and the trend to be bucked, to much consternation from outside observers.

It’s already starting to happen, although perhaps not in the way we might have anticipated.

After all, you can’t enroll patients willy nilly and expect to see a positive result every time because patient selection can and does matter over the long run.

Here, we discuss some of the emerging controversies coming out from ESMO…

To continue reading our latest discussion on oncology new product development plus commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

New directions in small cell lung cancer

Linie 30 Florisdorf, Vienna

With all the frequent attention on lung cancer of late – mostly on the most common form, non-small cell lung cancer – it’s easy to forget small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the rush to highlight new developments.

It’s time to talk turkey about old and new agents in the quest to improve outcomes for people with this dismal disease.

The good news is there are also a raft of scientific developments emerging, which may potentially help us better identify discrete subsets and enable the matching of appropriate regimens to the underlying biology.

At the World Conference in Lung Cancer this week in Vienna we’ve been following the numerous trials (and tribulations!) of progress in this niche, with a look at several key readouts through the lens of a thoracic lung cancer specialist.

What does he have to say and where are things heading next for the field?

To find out more, check out the interview below…

To continue reading our latest discussion on oncology new product development plus commentary and analysis BSB subscribers can log-in or you can click to access the content.

This content is restricted to subscribers

How – and when – should people with early stage breast cancer be treated with a PARP inhibitor?

We’re going to take a change of pace from our scientific previews from the forthcoming AACR meeting and switch to early stage cancer clinical trials readouts coming out this week.

The first one on deck is an update of the OlympiA trial exploring the PARP inhibitor olaparib as adjuvant therapy after chemotherapy in early stage germline BRCA mutation-positive (gBRCAm) high-risk breast cancer.

This is an important trial to follow given it’s the first of the PARPs to read out in early stage breast cancer in a well defined patient population with a high risk of disease recurrence.

Here, we explore the pros and cons of the latest findings and also put them in context since there’s quite a few important nuances to consider…

BSB subscribers can read our latest commentary – you can either log-in or click to access.

This content is restricted to subscribers

error: Content is protected !!