The Merck update, which will shed light on a $588 million bet to succeed Keytruda, is part of a roster of presentations that could shape the future of ADCs, protein degraders and KRAS-targeted therapies.
The collective attention of the oncology R&D community is turning toward San Diego. Beginning Friday, the city will host an American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting featuring updates from Merck, Amgen, Revolution Medicines and more with the potential to reshape cancer care and the priorities of R&D teams.
As was the case last year, one of AACR 2026’s most closely watched clinical data drops belongs to Merck. The drugmaker and its collaborators will share preliminary results from the first-in-human study of MK-2010, the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody that Merck licensed from Shanghai-based LaNova Medicines for $588 million upfront in 2024.
Merck struck the deal after another PD-1/VEGF bispecific, Akeso and Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab, beat its blockbuster checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda in a head-to-head clinical trial. The MK-2010 readout will provide an early look at Merck’s chances of competing with ivonescimab, as well as Pfizer and partners BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb, in the race to deliver the next backbone oncology treatment.
Jia Luo, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is closely watching the RAS space. In an email to BioSpace, she listed updates on the “promising” allele-specific RAS inhibitors zoldonrasib and elisrasib in KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) among the presentations she’s looking forward to at AACR 2026.
Revolution Medicines—which already made the biggest splash of this week with its pancreatic cancer data—is sharing preliminary safety and clinical activity data on another asset, zoldonrasib, which targets the G12D mutation in KRAS-dependent cancers. The biotech reported a 61% objective response rate in a Phase 1 NSCLC trial last year, though that figure included unconfirmed responses. Merck reportedly engaged in talks early this year to acquire Revolution for about $30 billion.
Meanwhile, elisrasib is a KRAS G12C inhibitor in development at D3 Bio. At AACR 2025, the Chinese biotech reported Phase 2 data showing a 30% response rate in 20 NSCLC patients who progressed on other KRAS G12C drugs such as Amgen’s Lumakras and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Krazati. This year’s update will include Phase 1/2 monotherapy data on elisrasib in advanced NSCLC patients previously treated with or without a KRAS G12C inhibitor.
Luo’s excitement for the zoldonrasib and elisrasib readouts reflects her expectation that “there will likely be multiple approved targeted treatment options for RAS [mutant] cancers in the coming years.”
Zoldonrasib and elisrasib also reflect the ongoing use of small molecules in oncology. Companies are still using the well-established modality in exciting new ways, Allan Jordan, vice president of oncology drug discovery at Sygnature Discovery, told BioSpace via email. Jordan named intrinsically disordered proteins, transcription factors and mRNA as challenging targets that researchers are tackling with small molecules.
Drugs targeting enzyme classes such as helicases “remain a vibrant field” for small molecules, Jordan said. Amgen and Eikon Therapeutics, which raised $381 million in an IPO this year, are among the companies sharing data on helicase inhibitors at AACR 2026.
ADCs enter new era
KRAS-targeted therapies made Lillian Siu’s top areas to watch at AACR 2026, but in an email to BioSpace, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre medical oncologist also named modalities such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) among the updates she is most looking forward to. Timothy Yap, a medical oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, also highlighted ADCs in his email to BioSpace.
The clinical trials plenary on April 19 will feature data on ADCs including CSPC Pharmaceutical’s EGFR candidate, Qilu Pharmaceutical’s claudin 6 prospect and a B7-H3-targeted asset that GSK licensed from Hansoh Pharma for $185 million upfront. Those candidates are traditional ADCs, with each featuring a targeting antibody conjugated to a cytotoxic topoisomerase I inhibitor.
AACR 2026 will also feature presentations on candidates that diverge from the standard ADC design. Astellas is presenting preclinical data on an ADC that carries two payloads to cells expressing TROP2, the receptor targeted by Gilead’s Trodelvy and AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Datroway. Duality Biologics, which has deals with BioNTech and GSK, is among the other companies sharing data on a dual-payload ADC.
The types of payloads are changing, too. Sygnature’s Jordan said it is interesting to finally see the ADC field move “away from traditional cytotoxic payloads toward more cancer-selective payloads which have the potential to improve tolerability and patient benefit.”
Elsewhere, multiple companies are sharing data on degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs), which deliver molecules that drive protein degradation rather than the cytotoxic payloads used in ADCs. Roche recently struck an up to $1 billion DAC deal with C4 Therapeutics, joining rivals including BMS in the emerging field.
At AACR 2026, Helioson Pharmaceutical is sharing late-breaking research on a DAC designed to degrade IKZF1/3, transcription factors needed for the growth and survival of multiple myeloma cells. CSPC, which like Helioson is based in China, is also presenting data on a DAC targeting IKZF1/3. Orum Therapeutics, a partner of BMS and Vertex, is among the other companies showcasing DAC data at the event.
The various projects illustrate the potential benefits of DACs, with CSPC using a CD38 antibody to trigger a dual mechanism of action and Orum leveraging the modality to achieve a wider therapeutic window than is possible with standard GSPT1 degraders. However, traditional degraders remain viable and the field continues to evolve, with Jordan naming the rise of glues targeting E3 ligases other than cereblon as a trend to watch.
ADCs, DACs and protein degraders are just some of the modalities that will be showcased at the event. Multispecific antibodies and novel induced proximity strategies are among the other areas Yap will be keeping an eye out for, while Siu will be watching for data on CAR T cell therapy and immunotherapy in precursor malignancies.
AACR runs from April 17 to April 22. Stay tuned to BioSpace for coverage of the most notable presentations.
