Companies have already begun their announcements of new clinical studies for various treatment settings in preparation for ASCO 2021.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting will be held virtually from June 4 to 8, 2021. Companies and researchers have already begun to announce their plans to present hundreds—sometimes from a single company—of new abstracts and reports from a range of clinical studies for various indications and treatment settings. Here’s just a preview of a few.
Sanofi and Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Amcenestrant Promising for ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer
Sanofi and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will present Phase I data from the AMEERA-1 trial of amcenestrant. The drug is an oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) being evaluated in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
“These early clinical data show that the combination of amcenestrant with palbociclib achieved encouraging antitumor activity,” said Sarat Chandarlapaty, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“The analysis also demonstrated no clinically significant cardiac or ocular findings and an overall safety profile in line with what we saw in the monotherapy setting. It’s notable to see this kind of activity in patients with ER+ metastatic breast cancer, where there is a clear need for new therapeutic options.”
Incyte to Make at Least 10 Presentations
Incyte indicated it plans to present a range of posters at ASCO from its oncology pipeline. This included an oral presentation describing the OPTIC primary study of ponatinib in hematologic malignancies, poster presentations of long-term analysis from its Phase II L-MIND study of tafasitamab and lenalidomide in r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and of capmatinib in MET Exon 14-mutated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Additional presentations will be made about the company’s retifanlimab and ruxolitinib-parsaclisib combination.
Steven Stein, Incyte’s chief medical officer, said, “We look forward to presenting data from across Incyte’s oncology portfolio and partner programs at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting. Data being presented during this congress, including new three-year data from the L-MIND study of tafasitamab in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma as well as results of the OPTIC study of ponatinib in chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia, underscore our continued focus on advancing science to help meet patients’ needs.”
Exelixis Making 20 Presentations of Cabozantinib
At the company’s first-quarter financial report on May 6, Exelixis announced that its cabozantinib would be the subject of 20 presentations. This will include data from the COSMIC-311 and CheckMate -9ER Phase III pivotal trials, as well as updates from externally sponsored studies.
The company is also presenting Phase III data from a study of Cabometyx (cabozantinib) for thyroid cancer. There were 300 differentiated thyroid cancer patients resistant to radioiodine therapy who had been treated previously with VEGFR-targeting therapeutics like Bayer’s Nexavar or Eisai’s Lenvima.
The company had previously reported topline data in 2020 showing that Cabometyx, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, decreased the risk of disease progression or death by 78%, which was its co-primary endpoint.
The new data will detail long-term data—placebo patients demonstrated a median of 1.9 months without their cancer getting worse, but the Cabometyx cohort had yet to hit the median. However, the overall response rate was 15% in the first 100 patients randomized at month six, which did not meet the co-primary endpoint.
AstraZeneca Wants to Redefine Cancer Care
AstraZeneca plans to present more than 100 abstracts featuring 21 approved and pipeline drugs from its oncology portfolio. Four of the abstracts were chosen as late-breakers. There are 12 oral presentations and one plenary presentation.
“Our data at ASCO this year show our unwavering resolve to revolutionize cancer care and strengthen our leading portfolio in lung and breast cancers as well as hematology,” said Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president, Oncology Business Unit. “New results for Lynparza (Olaparib) and Imfinzi (durvalumab) continue to validate our strategy of treating cancer early in settings with curative intent, and data for Calquence deliver on our commitment to improve the patient experience by demonstrating efficacy with safe, tolerable medicines.”
