DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
New Recommendations on Genetic Testing for Prostate Cancer [Thomas Jefferson University] Recommended priority genes for testing include BRCA2, BRCA1, and DNA mismatch repair genes in metastatic prostate cancer.
Cancer Experts Develop Precision Medicine-Based Genetic Testing Framework for Prostate Cancer [Genome Web]
The panel recommended large germline panels and somatic testing for metastatic prostate cancer. They also recommended germline testing for metastatic disease or family history suggestive of hereditary prostate cancer. Additional family history and pathologic criteria garnered moderate consensus.
IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ESSAIS
The Phase 3 study, KEYNOTE-361, enrolled 1,010 patients randomly assigned to receive pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, pembrolizumab alone, or chemotherapy. The goals were to show improvement in how long patients lived overall as well as how long they lived without the cancer worsening.
Failure of the phase 3 Keynote-361 trial could endanger Keytruda’s conditional FDA approval for first-line bladder cancer in cisplatin-ineligible patients whose tumors express PD-L1 at a combined score of at least 10 or in patients who aren’t able to receive any platinum-containing chemo regardless of PD-L1 status.
IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PARTENARIATS
The big idea here is to marry up Genmab’s technology, designed to marshal a T cell attack on cancer cells, with AbbVie’s antibody-drug conjugate tech, which deposits a toxic payload into the cancer cells, sparing healthy cells.
The collaboration combines Genmab’s world-class discovery and development engine and next-generation bispecific antibody therapeutic candidates with AbbVie’s deep clinical expertise, innovative antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform and global commercial leadership in hematological cancers.
For $750 million upfront, AbbVie gains rights to three early-stage Genmab drugs that can target two cell proteins at once, a type of treatment known as a bispecific antibody. The two companies will also work together to discover and advance four new antibody drugs for cancer.
Genmab has a history of working with other companies to advance its experimental treatments, having inked a total of 18 strategic partnerships including the one announced Wednesday
The deal, which features up to $3.2 billion in milestones, positions AbbVie to race Regeneron to market with a bispecific antibody that could compete with CAR-T therapies.
IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - BIOTECH
IPO bound? Five years in, Art Krieg and the Checkmate crew collect $85M to back up their 1-drug pipeline [EndPoints] The drug is CMP-001, which contains a CpG-A oligonucleotide that activates the TLR9 pathway to kick up an innate immune response to cancer — one of the most popular research strategies in the oncology handbook these days.
IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Opdivo® (nivolumab) for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) After Prior Fluoropyrimidine- and Platinum-based Chemotherapy [BMS] First approved immunotherapy in this patient population regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression level.
PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
With the deal with Sanofi, the plan is to investigate the use of KN026 in combination with the French drugmaker’s chemotherapy Taxotere (Docetaxel) in patients with HER2+ breast cancer.
LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS - PUBLICATIONS
Eight Fraudulent Cancer Research Studies Contained The Same Copied Results. How Does This Happen? [Forbes] The authors listed on the eight papers all appear to be Chinese with affiliations at Chinese hospitals and institutions.
