Summit Therapeutics, AstraZeneca And More From The Year’s Biggest Cancer Conference (2024)

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The American Society of Clinical Oncology held its annual conference in Chicago this past week, where biotech companies big and small highlighted clinical trial progress across a broad swathe of cancers. The conference was a big one for Summit Therapeutics, which saw its stock price more than double after reporting interim clinical trial data showing that its drug candidate ivonescimab outperformed Merck’s blockbuster drug Keytruda for non-small cell lung cancer. One catch? The clinical trial happened in China, meaning that a U.S.-based study will likely be required by the FDA before it will consider approval. “That was not bad for one day’s work,” Summit’s CEO Bob Duggan, whose net worth hit $7.5 billion that day, told Forbes.

AstraZeneca also showed off data for lung cancer patients. A clinical study of its cancer treatment Tagrisso in a certain type of stage III non-small cell lung cancer found that it reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 84% compared to a placebo. A study of its drug Imfinzi also showed a 27% reduced risk of disease progression or death in patients with a type of small cell lung cancer, a disease with fewer treatment options. This represents “a dramatic improvement in terms of the hazard ratio and the risk of progression or death in this population,” the company’s EVP of oncology Dave Fredrickson told Forbes.

More data also emerged for another promising treatment: cancer vaccines. Data presented by Moderna and Merck found that Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine in combination with Merck’s Keytruda reduced the risk of recurrence or death in late-stage skin cancer by 49% compared to Keytruda alone. The two companies are also exploring a similar combination therapy for lung cancer in a late-stage clinical trial.

Other news that stood out was a collaboration between Takeda and Pfizer on the drug Adcetris in combination with chemotherapy for patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma. The study compared this combination to the common standard of care in Europe and found both improved survival rates as well as significantly fewer adverse events, meaning potentially a better quality of life for patients with this disease. One key difference? The standard of care can often lead to sterility and sexual dysfunction in patients, who have a median age of 30 when diagnosed. The new regimen reduced these incidents by over 50%. “We want to cure [these patients],” Takeda’s oncology head P.K. Morrow told Forbes. “We also want them to have a great life, be able to get married and have children.”

Healthcare Investors Are Prominent On This Year’s Forbes Midas List

Every year in partnership with Truebridge Capital, Forbes produces its annual Midas List, which ranks the top venture capitalists based on the recent success of their portfolios. Several investors in healthcare and biotech startups made the list this year, including:

Robert Nelsen, the cofounder of ARCH Capital, which has financed more than 150 companies, 47 of which have reached valuations over $1 billion. His notable healthcare investments include Gameto, Vir and Altos Labs.
Ann Miura-Ko, cofounder of Floodgate, which has backed Tetrascience and Inscopix, among others. She also sits on the board of AI healthcare company SmarterDX.
Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst, which has backed companies like Cityblock, CapitalRx and Karius. Taneja also cofounded Livongo and his venture firm recently bought a hospital system with an eye to helping develop its portfolio company’s technologies.

Pipeline & Deal Updates

Neurology: QurAils has granted an exclusive license to Lilly for its drug candidate QRL-204, which is a potential treatment for ALS, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Lilly will make an upfront payment of $45 million on the deal, which is potentially worth up to $577 million plus royalties. :

Radiopharma: AstraZeneca led a series A round extension into Nucleus RadioPharma, a CDMO for radiotherapies. The financial terms were not disclosed, but it announced the initial series A of $56 million last October.

Digital Stethoscopes: Eko Health, which has developed digital stethoscopes and FDA-cleared algorithms for detecting heart problems, announced a $41 million series D round.

RSV: The FDA approved Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for RSV, mRESVIA, for adults aged 60 and over.

How Midas Lister Annie Lamont Became A Health Tech Heavy Hitter

Before she was Connecticut’s First Lady, Midas lister Annie Lamont was making early bets on health tech — and reaping big returns. Her venture firm Oak HC/FT, which has $5.3 billion-in-assets, is the latest chapter in a career that spans multiple firms and four decades, with lifetime investments in at least 80 companies. She’s returned an estimated $1.5 billion to investors over the last decade. Now, she’s reinventing herself again for the AI era.

Other Healthcare News

Psychedelic stocks tanked after an FDA advisory committee voted against approving MDMA therapy For PTSD.

A study suggests Ozempic and similar drugs may help curb alcohol use disorder potentially related to how the drug reacts with the hormone dopamine in the brain.

An FDA panel voted in favor of manufacturing new COVID-19 vaccines to specifically target the JN.1 variant lineage – the most dominant strain circulating in the U.S. – to come out this fall.

Prebiotic drink brand Poppi faces a lawsuit over claims its beverages don’t contain enough prebiotic fiber to boost gut health.