Photo © Bellevue Asset Management
By Dr Terence McManus, Portfolio Manager, and Dr Markus Schweiger, Biopharma Analyst
New active substances targeting some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers took center stage at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago this year from 29 May to 2 June. It is the largest medical congress of the year, with more than 40,000 participants, and we were on site to speak with physicians about the latest advances in cancer treatment.
One of the key themes at ASCO 2026 is that lung cancer treatment may be entering a new era. For years, chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy has been the standard approach for many patients. This year, however, two new therapeutic strategies moved into the spotlight.
The first concerns antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), led by Merck and Kelun’s sacituzumab tirumotecan (Sac-TMT), which posted highly impressive Phase III results in the OptiTROP-Lung05 study.
The second involves a new generation of PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, led by Summit and Akeso’s ivonescimab in the HARMONi-6 trial, alongside BioNTech/Bristol Myers Squibb’s pumitamig (ROSETTA Lung-02) and Pfizer’s SSGJ-707.
Overall, these studies appear to show that more targeted approaches can improve outcomes beyond current standards: Sac-TMT delivered one of the strongest efficacy signals seen in first-line lung cancer, while ivonescimab demonstrated a statistically significant overall survival benefit in HARMONI-6. However, the speaker at the session noted that the HARMONi-6 trial results, generated exclusively in China, may not be fully transferable to a global patient population.
Perhaps the most interesting development is the shift in tone among opinion leaders. The question is no longer whether ADCs or PD-1/VEGF therapies will prevail, but how the two can be combined to create more effective regimens that can help eliminate chemotherapy.
For investors, the most attractive opportunities may therefore lie with companies exposed to both modalities and best positioned to develop the next generation of combination therapies.
Beyond lung cancer, another standout presentation came from Revolution Medicines, whose RAS(ON) inhibitor daraxonrasib delivered impressive Phase III results in previously treated pancreatic cancer. In the RASolute 302 study, daraxonrasib nearly doubled median overall survival versus standard chemotherapy (13.2 versus 6.7 months; HR 0.40) while significantly improving progression-free survival and response rates. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to treat, with few meaningful advances in recent years, which makes these results particularly notable. The presentation reportedly drew a standing ovation. Discussions at ASCO focused less on whether the drug works than on how quickly it could become the new second-line standard of care, and what that means for the broader RAS-targeted oncology landscape.
