Onco Actu du 18 mai 2015 - Spécial ASCO

	5.5.1 ASCO (général)
Jumpstart ASCO '15 With This Quick List of Hot Research Abstracts [TheStreet] Luckily, I had early access to the ASCO abstracts under an embargo. What follows is a list and summary of abstracts likely to be of greatest interest to biotech investors. My list isn't comprehensive, but it should expedite your ASCO abstract search.
ASCO 2015: pre-meeting presscast [The OBR Blog] As preparations for The Annual Meeting of ASCO heat up, a pre-meeting Presscast highlighted four abstracts of special interest to be presented in greater detail at the meeting in Chicago. All four are based on data from Phase III trials.
New Cancer Treatment and Prevention Studies Signal Major Advances for Children and Adults [ASCO] “Thanks to a deeper understanding of cancer biology, we have a potential new targeted therapy for multiple myeloma, and can better tailor treatment for kids with Wilms tumor. At the same time, a simple vitamin pill and a long-available chemotherapy are being put to work in different ways to improve the lives of patients.”
	5.5.1.1 ASCO (général) - Industriels
Myriad Showcases Its Pioneering Research at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting [Myriad] 19 Presentations Will Highlight Myriad's Expanding Portfolio of Transformative Diagnostic Tests.
Caris Life Sciences Announces Presentation of Comprehensive Tumor Profiling Research at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting [Caris Life Sciences] Research Demonstrates Clinical Utility of Caris Molecular Intelligence and Advances Molecular Understanding of Cancer to Enable the Delivery of Precision Medicine.
ARIAD Announces Data Presentations at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting [ARIAD] ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that clinical data on Iclusig (ponatinib) and brigatinib (AP26113), its investigational anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor, will be presented.
Merck to Present Data at ASCO that Illustrate How the Company is Tackling Difficult - to - Treat Cancers [Merck] New data on priority candidates from Merck’s oncology and immuno-oncology pipeline are being presented, including avelumab, evofosfamide and tepotinib.
Bristol-Myers Squibb to Present Data at 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting that Demonstrate the Promise of its Broad Immuno-Oncology Portfolio Across Solid Tumors and Blood Cancers Including Multiple Myeloma [BMS] Building on the scientific advances the company has pioneered in Immuno-Oncology, Bristol-Myers Squibb will present data for Opdivo andYervoy across multiple solid tumor types, as well as elotuzumab in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer to Present Data at ASCO for Avelumab, an Investigational Anti-PD-L1 Antibody [Pfizer] By inhibiting PD-L1 interactions, avelumab is thought to enable the activation of T-cells and the adaptive immune system.
AstraZeneca to update on progress with immuno-oncology pipeline and combination treatments at ASCO 2015 [AstraZeneca] 61 data abstracts - with 6 oral presentations - to be featured from across AstraZeneca’s broad pipeline, including in lung, ovarian and breast cancers.
Puma Biotechnology Announces Publication of Abstracts for the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting [Puma] The Company is initially focused on the development of PB272 (oral neratinib), a potent irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and patients with non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and other solid tumors that have a HER2 mutation.
ImmunoGen, Inc. Announces Clinical Data Presentations at Upcoming ASCO Annual Meeting [ImmunoGen] ImmunoGen's mirvetuximab soravtansine is the first ADC to target folate receptor alpha (FRα), which is highly expressed on many ovarian cancers and on other types of solid tumors. The ASCO presentations will be on the initial findings from the Phase I expansion cohort assessing this ADC as a single agent for the treatment of patients with FRα-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Bayer to Present Latest Oncology Research at ASCO 2015 [Bayer] Includes data from studies evaluating radium-223 dichloride, regorafenib and sorafenib along with research from Company’s clinical oncology pipeline.
The ASCO roundup: Thumbs down for Puma, up for Roche, mixed for Bristol-Myers [FierceBiotech] The curtain has been raised on the first act of the annual cancer drug lollapalooza at ASCO, with the first round of abstracts spotlighting a series of early winners and at least one big loser: Puma Biotechnology.
	5.5.1.2 ASCO (général) - Académiques
Dana-Farber researchers focus on breakthrough cancer research and care at 2015 ASCO conference [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] The latest cancer research findings from Dana-Farber faculty will show new treatments for diseases including melanoma, gastric cancer, brain cancer, and ovarian cancer as well as new developments around adult psychosocial and pediatric issues.
Variations in liver cancer attributable to hepatitis virus variations [MD Anderson Cancer Center] Discovery that hepatitis B and C viruses generate markedly different clinical pathologies highlights potential change in treatment plans for newly diagnosed patients.
Tumor sequencing study highlights benefits of profiling healthy tissue as well [MD Anderson Cancer Center] “This is an opportunity to identify germline mutations that could have contributed to a patient’s cancer development and may be a heritable cancer syndrome that would put the patient’s family members at risk.”
	5.5.10 ASCO (hémato)
ASCO '15 -- Bristol, Abbvie Immune-Boosting Drug Lowers Progression Risk in Multiple Myeloma [TheStreet] The overall response rate for elotuzumab in the study was 79% compared to 66% for the control arm, also statistically significant.
Bristol and AbbVie’s Experimental Drug Delayed Progression of Blood Cancer [Wall Street Journal] The drug, elotuzumab, binds to a protein, “SLAMF7,” that is found on the surfaces of both cancer and immune-system cells. Scientists believe this triggers the immune cells to destroy the cancer cells.
Bristol, AbbVie drug extends multiple myeloma remission: study [Reuters] "This is probably a practice-changing type of treatment," ASCO president-elect Dr. Julie Vose said. "I expect they will get approval."
	5.5.2 ASCO (sein)
Puma Biotechnology Founder Auerbach Loses $250 Million On Cancer Drug Data [Forbes] Auerbach, contacted by email, argued that investors were misreading the data. He said that Roche’s Herceptin, a gold standard drug in this setting, had higher rates because only patients who really had the genetic mutation that is required for any of these drugs to work were included thanks to more accurate testing at central laboratories.
	5.5.3 ASCO (prostate)
New hopes for prostate cancer sufferers [The Telegraph] The new research suggests that providing men with chemotherapy as soon as cancer spreads beyond the prostate can extend life by an average of 22 months.
Earlier chemotherapy extends lives of men with advanced prostate cancer [Cancer Research UK] "All men who are well enough and who have prostate cancer which has spread, should be offered this combination of treatments.”
	5.5.4 ASCO (immunothérapie)
10 Important Checkpoint Inhibitor Cancer Drug Abstracts from ASCO '15 [TheStreet] What follows is a quick scan and summary of the ASCO research abstracts focused on studies of checkpoint inhibitors. In addition to Bristol and Merck, noteworthy data is also being released from Roche, AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
	5.5.6 ASCO (peau)
Vitamin B3 Prevents New Skin Cancers In Study [Forbes] This doesn’t mean that everyone should start taking nicotinamide. A benefit in patients who’ve already gotten skin cancer won’t necessarily translate to those who haven’t.
Type of B vitamin shown to reduce risk of common skin cancers [Reuters] Damian also emphasized that nicotinamide, easy to obtain and "almost obscenely inexpensive," is not the same as another B vitamin, niacin, that can cause side effects such as headache and low blood pressure.
Don’t take vitamin B3 to prevent skin cancer – stick with shade [Cancer Research UK] All in all – despite the fact that it suggests a cheap and readily available way for doctors to help people at risk of multiple recurring skin cancers – this study says nothing that changes our existing sun advice.
B Vitamin Is Found to Help People Prone to Some Types of Skin Cancer [NY Times] “This one’s ready to go straight into the clinic,” said Dr. Damian, a dermatology professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. However, she said the vitamin should be used only by people who get frequent skin cancers, not by everyone.
	5.5.8 ASCO (poumon)
Genentech’s Investigational Medicine Alectinib Shrank Tumors in Nearly Half of People with Specific Type of Lung Cancer [Genentech] Genentech plans to submit these Phase I/II data to the FDA as part of a New Drug Application for alectinib, which has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation.
AstraZeneca drug combination on track to fight lung cancer [Reuters] Researchers said on Wednesday that the combination of the experimental drugs MEDI4736 and tremelimumab had "a manageable safety profile with evidence of clinical activity, including in PD-L1 negative disease".
Roche immunotherapy improves lung cancer survival | Reuters Interim results from the trial of 287 patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer showed that the immunotherapy reduced the risk of death by 53 percent in those with the highest levels of the biomarker, compared with those treated by chemotherapy.
Boehringer Ingelheim showcases expanding presence in lung cancer at ASCO 2015 with new data including presentation of afatinib* overall survival results for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung [Boehringer Ingelheim] The LUX-Lung 8 Phase III trial directly compared the efficacy and safety of two EGFR-directed treatments, afatinib* and erlotinib, in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung, progressing after treatment with first-line chemotherapy.
	5.5.9 ASCO (autres organes)
Personalized approach helped cure more children with kidney cancer [Reuters] Dix said the tailored approach based on the genetic profile of the tumor helps doctors give additional treatment only to children who have a higher risk of relapse, sparing those who can achieve a cure with less chemotherapy from the additional side effects.