ESMO 2023 preview – going beyond PD-1

While plenty of the ESMO presentations whose titles have been revealed so far concern Keytruda and its Chinese company-originated anti-PD-(L)1 brethren, it is the many follow-on immuno-oncology approaches that might be of greater interest to investors. These include AstraZeneca’s bispecific MAb against PD-1 x CTLA-4 volrustomig, which recently entered the first of several pivotal trials, and an unusual fixed dual-MAb approach with these mechanisms from Qilu, coded QL1706, reveals recently disclosed information on non-late-breaker data to be presented at the congress next month. Approaches seeking to hit immune system cells, meanwhile, include Sanofi/Innate Pharma’s NK cell engager SAR443579 and a MAb from Imcheck that is said to activate γ9δ2 T cells. ESMO isn’t a meeting normally associated with much Car-T cell work, though cell therapy presentations this year will include IM96, a Car being developed by Beijing Immunochina that targets the GUCY2C antigen. GUCY2C is not a commonly studied Car-T target, being best known perhaps as the focus of Pfizer’s T-cell egnager PF-07062119, which has been in phase 1 since 2019. 2Seventy Bio, when still under the Bluebird umbrella, presented preclinical data on a GUCY2C-targeting Car at AACR 2018.

Selected other I-O, combos and cell therapy

The ESMO congress takes place in Madrid, Spain on 20-24 October. Full abstract texts will be published on 15 October, with late-breakers going live on 18 October.