Esmo 2022 preview – duelling datasets

Most late-breaker titles for Esmo are now disclosed, and in terms of biotech catalysts the upcoming meeting’s regular abstracts cannot be ignored either. In some cases the latter will allow a handy comparison to be made against the former. For instance, investors in Springworks, whose nirogacestat features in a late-breaker, will pay attention to Ayala’s rival gamma-secretase inhibitor AL102, which has a regular Esmo abstract; both datasets concern the niche area of desmoid tumours, but Ayala is worth just $20m, barely 2% of Springworks’ market cap. Data on Daiichi Sankyo’s B7H3-targeted DS-7300, which uses the same ADC technology as Enhertu, will be of interest to Macrogenics investors, while first-in-human results are due from studies of Deciphera’s DCC-3116 and Regeneron’s ubamatamab. An update to results at Esmo 2021 concerns Amgen’s Lumakras in combination with Vectibix in colorectal cancer, while an earlier-stage Kras G12C inhibitor, Roche’s GDC-6036, has phase 1 data. The main course at Esmo for Kras watchers is Mirati’s adagrasib late-breaker, also in colorectal cancer. Indeed, Kras is something of an Esmo theme, with sessions including two satellite and several special symposia.