ESMO 2023: Key Takeaways

This past week, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) held its annual cancer research conferences, connecting oncology professionals, patient advocates, industry representatives, and major media outlets from around the world. Over the four-day conference, hundreds of presenters took to the virtual and physical stages, sharing their latest findings in competitive and disease-area research. 

Within the AlphaSense platform, documents aggregated from ESMO’s conference revealed exciting developments and new data from notable industry companies, including AstraZeneca, Amgen Inc, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and more.

Digging deeper into broker research, event transcripts, and press releases, we’ve combed through insights that could be potential market opportunities, innovative strategies for conducting business, and more. Discover some of the top takeaways from this year’s ESMO below.

Key Takeaways from ESMO 2023

• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are becoming cornerstone therapies for HR-positive breast cancer. In this group, Astra’s HER2 ADC Enhertu and Gilead’s TROP2 ADC Trodelvy are primary choices.
• SGEN: EV-302 trial in 1L bladder cancer is highly compelling and cleared its efficacy bar after its anticipated topline release, producing results that reveal highly compelling survival benefits.
• JNJ’s MARIPOSA PFS results were underwhelming versus expectations, as many investors had hoped the regimen would be superior to the AZN FLAURA-2 trial.
• Next-Generation TCR T-cell therapy (ADP-A2M4CD8) demonstrated a strong efficacy in a broad range of solid tumors, reporting a 50% response rate in 26 patients with ovarian, urothelial, and head and neck cancers and 75% response rate in ovarian, urothelial, and head and neck cancers in patients who received three or fewer prior lines of therapy.

“For the first time, the utilization of modified T-cells targeting MAGE-A4 has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in generating substantial responses across a spectrum of diseases, including head & neck, urothelial, and ovarian cancers. These results give us confidence that the field of cell therapy for solid tumors will continue to advance in the forthcoming year.”

– Press Release | Newsfile Corp

• IDEAYA announced top line phase 2 results for a Darovasertib and Crizotinib combo treatment in metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM).

“This data contributes to the growing clinical evidence that the darovasertib and crizotinib combination represents an emerging treatment advance in metastatic UM, a disease with a historically poor prognosis.”

– Press Release | PR Newswire

• FLAURA2 data supports benefiting the central nervous system, carving a subgroup of 1L patients that may benefit from the cocktail (osimertinib + chemotherapy).
  

• Immutep’s Efti in combination with KEYTRUDA® generates excellent overall survival benefit in patients with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
• AZN presented results from DESTINY-PanTumor01 evaluating T-DXd in patients with HER2-activating mutations (HER2m) potentially supporting first tissue agnostic indication for an ADC. The PanTumor01 data suggests tumor-agnostic activity for HER2-activating mutations in heavily pre-treated patients.
• Theriva™ Biologics announced exciting results for VCN-01 in combination with Durvalumab for patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

“We are encouraged by the biological activity observed in R/M HNSCC patients previously treated with anti-PD(L)-1 agents, where new options are urgently needed to offer patients the best chance of long-term survival.”

– Press Release | Press Release

You can read every event transcript from ESMO here. Not a user? Unlock a free trial of AlphaSense here.