With oncology still representing a large minority of all biopharma R&D, and attracting high levels of public and private financing, the focus on COVID-19 has not dampened expectations for progress in treating cancer.
“I believe that 2021 will be the year when biopharma renews the commitment to get to cures in oncology,” was the prediction of Peter Lebowitz, global oncology therapeutic area head at Janssen. “With novel technologies and highly actionable science, the time is ripe to develop anticancer regimens with curative intent. With data science, the time is now to approach cancer biology with better focus. With cancer interception, the world is ready for us to change the paradigm in order to eliminate disease.”
Others homed in on specific advances expected this year. For example, Genenta’s chief medical officer, Carlo Russo, thought 2021 would “see a new phase for gene therapy: the first clinical evidence of its utility in the treatment of solid cancers.”
He wasn’t the only one to anticipate progress in the treatment of solid tumors. Christi Shaw, CEO of Gilead Sciences, Inc. subsidiary Kite, said: “In CAR T-cell therapy, the industry is poised to deliver treatments for more types of cancer, including advances for solid tumor research, as well as in earlier lines of therapy – potentially bringing this promising therapy to more patients.”
Others highlighted expectations for advances in diverse and intersecting areas of cancer therapeutic development, including harnessing a growing understanding of the mechanics of the tumor micro-environment, applications of precision medicine, combination approaches and the promise of new immuno-oncology targets including TIGIT, CD155 and A2A.
“Despite the huge innovation in cancer immunotherapy over the past decade, currently only a minority of patients realize durable benefit from existing checkpoint therapies so there remains a huge need to develop more effective options,” said Markku Jalkanen, CEO of immunotherapy-focused Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy. “Our growing understanding of how the tumor microenvironment (TME) shields a cancer from the immune system and fuels its growth – including so called ‘don’t eat me’ signaling – makes it a clear target for the next generation of immunotherapies and we are likely to see further clinical data from a number of companies in 2021.”
Chris Boshoff outlined a couple of areas of focus for Pfizer Oncology, where he is chief development officer: “More and more, we will see the use of liquid biopsies to select patients for cancer studies, to inform decisions regarding new therapies and to intercept disease at an early stage. Expansion of the use of liquid biopsies, that detect either circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or methylated DNA fragments from blood plasma, has the potential to transform cancer medicine. With increased sensitivity, ctDNA detection could allow us to identify cancer earlier and potentially also dictate randomization to new treatments for M0 disease, which is disease that has spread as detected by molecular blood analyses, but not by conventional imaging. We plan to integrate liquid biopsies in studies initiating in 2021 for M0 breast cancer. These studies could inform the development of our portfolio of next-generation CDK inhibitors for HR+ breast cancer."
He went on, “2021 will also reveal the true potential of novel immunotherapies to transform the outcome of patients with certain hematological malignancies ... The appropriate sequencing and rational combinations of bispecific antibodies and CAR-T therapies that target B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and other antigens in multiple myeloma have the potential to transform outcomes for patients. The continued development of breakthrough treatments, specifically with bispecific antibodies targeting BCMA, is an exciting and fast-moving area where we will see great advancements in 2021. Pfizer is looking forward to launching new registration-enabling studies for our subcutaneously administered BCMA-CD3 bispecific antibody in 2021, including those as monotherapy and combination studies.”
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