A $680m swoop for Harpoon will fill a hole in Merck’s pipeline.

As a key mid-stage readout approaches for the group’s neoantigen immunotherapy, Gritstone still has much to prove.

The dust has settled on a momentous ESMO conference, which saw biotech activity amid big pharma’s practice-changing data.

Beyond lung cancer this year’s ESMO promises several other late-breaking datasets that could change clinical practice.

Lung cancer will soon join melanoma as a phase 3 indication for mRNA-4157, an asset Merck & Co last year endorsed to the tune of $250m.