Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY): Leading Risk Taker on a estimated $1.3 Billion Committed to Fund 78 currently known Clinical Trials which will enroll 19,000 Cancer Patients
Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
American Society of Clinical Oncology — History
ASCO 50th Annual Meeting: Science & Society
VIEW VIDEO
May 30-June 3, 2014
McCormick Place
Chicago, Illinois
ASCO was founded in 1964 by a small group of physician members of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) who recognized the need for the creation of a separate society dedicated to issues unique to clinical oncology.
Below, explore highlights of ASCO’s past through a series of in-depth articles. You can also experience the history of the Society through video vignettes from the people who believed in ASCO from the beginning and learn about ASCO’s Founders and Past Presidents.
History Article Series
- The Journal of Clinical Oncology (September 18, 2008): This article chronicles the 21-year history of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Society’s flagship publication and the foremost peer-reviewed journal in the field.
- Developing the First Scientific Meeting (April 1, 2005): This article examines the decision to develop a scientific oncology meeting with a clinical focus and the planning process for what would become the Society’s first Annual Meeting.
- ASCO’s Transition to Self-Management (January 1, 2005): This article examines the establishment of ASCO Headquarters and the Society’s growth from a volunteer-based professional organization to a fully staffed, internationally recognized authority on clinical oncology.
- Creating the ASCO Brand (July 1, 2004): This article examines how the Society’s now familiar name was once a matter of spirited debate among its founding members — a notion that might seem puzzling to current members.
- The ASCO Annual Meeting (April 1, 2004): This article examines how, In 1964, Harry Bisel, MD, ASCO’s first President, recommended that “One full day … be held annually for scientific meetings.” The breadth and scope ASCO’s Annual Meeting now would have seemed unimaginable to the Society’s founders.
- ASCO’s Founders Shared Vision for Future of Cancer Treatment (January 1, 2004): This article examines how Arnoldus Goudsmit, MD, PhD, and the rest of ASCO’s founders helped create a blueprint for the future of cancer care.
- Exploring ASCO’s Roots (October 27, 2003): This article examines the founding principles of ASCO, as set forth in the Society’s first organizational meeting back in 1964.
SOURCE
Citigroup last year put a $35 billion figure on the market potential for these drugs, the oft-cited megablockbuster number helps explain why these companies are so interested in being among the first to the market.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (($BMY), Naomi Kresge and Robert Langreth report, is devoting an estimated $649 million to its immuno-oncology work, which is primarily devoted to getting nivolumab through the clinic and into the market.
Merck ($MRK), which is furiously at work on MK-3475 as many of the rest of its projects struggle, at one point recently described its immuno-oncology program as a pipeline unto itself. But the pharma giant is actually a distant second at this stage of the race, at least in terms of spending, with an estimated commitment of $327 million. Then
Roche ($RHHBY) – programs costing an estimated $189 million – hasn’t enjoyed as much attention for its PD-L1 program for MPDL3280A, but new data from a small study on bladder cancer looked promising and its Genentech unit is looking to make a splash in Chicago.
AstraZeneca ($AZN) bring up the rear, with $145 million on immuno-oncology – prospects with its immuno-oncology program for the PD-L1 therapy MEDI4736
Cancer vaccines were once the darlings of the R&D field for immunotherapies, but as Emily Mullin reports in FierceVaccines, a string of failures has seriously dimmed the prospects for the one-time leaders in the field. Still, some new biotechs are coming along. And as I reported in a separate story today, big players like J&J are looking to find some new ways to better apply some old, and failed, technologies.
Reply-To: <editors@fiercebiotech.com>
Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:50:54 +0000 (GMT)
To: <avivalev-ari@alum.berkeley.edu>
Subject: | 05.29.14 | ASCO: Top R&D bets crest $1B in immuno-oncology; J&J bags new prostate cancer tech
J&J expands prostate cancer program with cancer vax tech from Aduro
Johnson & Johnson’s ($JNJ) busy deal team in California has nailed down another development pact–this time zeroing in on new technology at a Berkeley biotech that will be used to expand its considerable efforts on prostate cancer R&D. And the deal includes rights to a failed cancer vaccine program which has recently sparked some positive trial results in a follow-up effort aimed at salvaging the work.
 |
| Aduro CEO Stephen Isaacs |
This new deal from the J&J Innovation center zeroes in on a pact to license therapeutic candidates from Aduro BioTech’s drug development platform, which is focused on kicking up an immune response. The platform tech involves the use of live-attenuated double deleted Listeria monocytogenes strains to spawn the antigens needed to provoke an immune system attack on cancer.
Aduro didn’t break down the dollars in the deal, but the whole package of milestones and an upfront tallies up to $365 million, most of which is likely back ended.
SOURCE
J&J expands prostate cancer program with cancer vax tech from Aduro – FierceBiotech http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/jj-expands-prostate-cancer-program-cancer-vax-tech-aduro/2014-05-29#ixzz3388xfcqU
Like Merck and AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers is fascinated by the therapeutic potential of marrying an immune checkpoint drug with a therapy–INCB24360–that is designed to spur an immune system attack on cancer cells. Their Phase I/II study, which will explore the combos impact on multiple tumor types, is being co-funded by the two companies with Incyte taking the lead on the work.
“Given the encouraging data for Incyte’s IDO1 inhibitor and our current understanding of nivolumab’s anti-tumor immune response, we see this as an important area of study to add to our broad clinical development program,” said Bristol’s Michael Giordano in a statement.
CytomX, meanwhile, is gaining a $50 million upfront, unspecified preclinical development milestones and up to $298 million in additional milestones for each of up to 4 new “Probodies,” or new drug candidates. The targets include CTLA-4, a well-validated target in the field.
The biotech is a 2013 Fierce 15 company which was spun out from the labs of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their next-level antibodies come with a peptide that blocks the antibody’s ability to bind to an antigen until it’s clipped off by a disease-associated enzyme.
– here’s the release on the Incyte deal
– see the release on the CytomX partnership
Related Articles:
AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers add immuno-oncology collaborations for pipeline stars
A Phase III win puts Incyte’s cancer drug in line for blockbuster status
Incyte’s new CEO says his pipeline is underrated–and undervalued
SOURCE
Bristol-Myers adds $1.24B deal plus a partnership in immuno-oncology deal frenzy – FierceBiotech http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/bristol-myers-adds-348m-deal-plus-partnership-immuno-oncology-deal-frenzy/2014-05-27#ixzz3389rRiFZ
Bristol-Myers Squibb: It’s all about the ‘breakthrough’ drug nivolumab now
Bristol-Myers ($BMY) has one of the best drug development track records in the industry, and the big biotech is devoting major resources to its immuno-oncology lead. Bristol-Myers issued 5 new releases on nivolumab last night, and they all followed an early-morning statement on a new nivo combo study being mounted with Celldex.
The FDA helped make Bristol-Myers’ case for the PD-1 drug by giving nivolumab breakthrough status for Hodgkin’s lymphoma after failure of autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab. But the analysts were hungry for more data, not bragging rights to a drug they had assigned blockbuster expectations to long ago.
They got a taste of that with promising results for nivolumab combined with Yervoy in previously treated renal cancer.
“In the Phase Ib CheckMate-016 trial, which evaluated the safety and tolerability of nivolumab at different doses and schedules as part of a regimen with other agents, (the overall response rate) for the investigational combination regimen of nivolumab and Yervoy (ipilimumab) ranged from 43-48% with a 24-week progression free survival rate that ranged from 64-65% in previously treated and treatment-naïve patients,” Bristol reported.
“These data are quite good, but perhaps not as ‘mind blowing’ as the combo data were in melanoma at last year’s ASCO,” says ISI’s Mark Schoenebaum.
Schoenebaum was more enthusiastic about nivo plus chemo in first-line lung cancer. “The one-year landmark (overall survival rates) in the abstract are stellar at 59%-87% (depending on chemo regimen and histology) which is above what you would expect historically (historical rates are 40%-50%).” But with serious signs of toxicity and a muted response among patients, expectations of Yervoy plus nivolumab in first-line lung cancer are plunging.
That’s the point that a lot of investors seized on Thursday morning, particularly after BMO Capital downgraded the stock after considerable speculation regarding the potential of Yervoy and nivo in lung cancer. Shares of Bristol-Myers slid 6% this morning.
There’s plenty more coming up on nivolumab at ASCO, so stay tuned.
– here’s the release from Bristol-Myers on the renal cell results
– here’s the release on lung cancer
Related Articles:
AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers add immuno-oncology collaborations for pipeline stars
Bristol-Myers heads to FDA with nivolumab, but not fast enough
Is Bristol-Myers fading back in its hot race with Merck for PD-1 lead?
SOURCE
Bristol-Myers Squibb: It’s all about the ‘breakthrough’ drug nivolumab now – FierceBiotech http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/bristol-myers-squibb-its-all-about-breakthrough-drug-nivolumab-now/2014-05-15#ixzz338AGBggx
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