atebimetinib

iStock, Abscent84 Revolution Medicines stole the show at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting as full data from its pancreatic cancer drug lived up to expectations, while Summit and Akeso proved the PD-(L)1/VEGF mechanism and Eli Lilly showed that its in vivo CAR T bet is paying off. The biggest winners of this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference were patients with cancer, with two drugs at least doubling survival in pancreatic cancer trials and the term “practice-changing” bandied about in regards to these and other therapies. From a business perspective, the victors included Revolution Medicines— hailed by Truist Securities ahead of ASCO as potentially “the next oncology titan”—and the current and apparently still reigning king, Merck. Revolution stole the show with a plenary presentation on Sunday that detailed its “unprecedented” pancreatic cancer data. Meanwhile, Merck may not have had the splashiest presentations in Chicago over the weekend, but analysts say the data show why the Big Pharma remains king of oncology. Elsewhere, Pfizer—a prolific presenter with more than 40 abstracts at ASCO—shared robust data in lung, colorectal and prostate cancer; all things continue to come up Eli Lilly; and data from Summit Therapeutics and Akeso proved the PD-(L)1/VEGF mechanism, according to analysts, but left myriad questions on the table. Here, BioSpace ranks ASCO 2026’s biggest winners, based on sheer data, market position, analyst sentiment and more. 1. Revolution: Changing the game in pancreatic cancer After stunning the pancreatic cancer space in April with topline data showing that daraxonrasib nearly doubled overall survival for patients with advanced disease, Revolution doubled down with more detailed data at ASCO on Sunday. In the global Phase 3 RASolute 302 trial, Revolution’s drug also doubled progression-free survival and nearly tripled the objective response rate compared to chemotherapy, according to the plenary presentation , which was interrupted several times by applause. Daraxonrasib attracted the most hyperbolic response at ASCO from analysts and advocacy groups alike. “It’s a grand slam. It is much more than a home run,” Julie Gralow, ASCO’s chief medical officer, said Saturday during a press briefing. Leerink Partners dubbed the full data “practice changing,” while Anna Berkenblit, chief scientific and medical officer at The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, referred to the results as “jaw dropping,” adding that the data “represent the most significant advance we have ever seen in pancreatic cancer.” Truist Securities saw the dataset as “derisking approval and supporting rapid adoption” of the RAS inhibitor, according to a Sunday note to investors, adding that daraxonrasib could potentially launch in the third quarter of 2026 with a broad label. Pancreatic cancer ASCO: Revolution poised to capture RAS space as pancreatic cancer dataset ‘derisks’ approval Revolution Medicines and its RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib stole the show at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting this weekend, as Truist Securities predicts a possible third quarter launch for the pancreatic cancer drug. June 1, 2026 · 3 min read · Brianna Abbott Read more 2. Merck: Long-time oncology king holds its throne despite Keytruda’s looming patent cliff It seems strange to call Merck a dark horse candidate for this list, but here we are. Going into ASCO, Merck was thought to have missed the PD-(L)1/VEGF race, currently led by Summit Therapeutics and Akeso’s ivonescimab and BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb’s pumitamig . Merck’s MK-2010, by comparison, is in much earlier-stage development. While there is a common belief that this class could unseat Merck’s Keytruda as oncology’s top drug, that day isn’t here yet. After the data presented this weekend by Akeso, BMO Capital Markets declared in a May 31 note that: “King Keytruda’s reign continues.” Moreover, Merck’s partner Kelun-Biotech presented Phase 3 data for sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that reinforced its differentiated efficacy, the firm wrote in a May 29 note to investors. “While we think PD-(L)1/VEGF (specifically BNTX/BMY’s pumitamig) development has shown meaningful mechanistic validation this weekend, we come away feeling as if Merck’s TROP2 and potential for combinations with its own PD-1/VEGF could offer the company the firepower and trial flexibility to not only be a leader in NSCLC but other solid tumors with more readouts imminent,” BMO said in a June 2 note. RBC, meanwhile, said the TROP2 data are “consistent with the abstract that exceeded our efficacy expectations.” With Keytruda still possessing around two years of exclusivity—and a seemingly solid post-2028 strategy—Merck takes second place in our ASCO rankings. Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) ASCO: Merck overshadowed by upstart biotechs but TROP2 plans begin to pay off Merck may not have had the splashiest presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, but the data show why the Big Pharma remains king of oncology, analysts say. June 2, 2026 · 4 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more 3. Eli Lilly: ‘Nutty’ Kelonia data validate in vivo CAR T approach What would a pharmaceutical conference in 2026 be without Eli Lilly? One of the company’s numerous recent acquisitions paid dividends at ASCO. In April, Lilly bought into the quickly emerging in vivo CAR T space with the up to $7 billion acquisition of gene delivery biotech Kelonia Therapeutics . On Sunday, Kelonia shared data from the Phase 1 inMMyCAR trial showing that all 18 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treated so far with KLN-1010 had no cancer in their bone marrow a month after treatment, as determined by a minimal residual disease test. This status was maintained after six months. As for safety, most patients experienced grade 1 or 2 cytokine release syndrome, while there was one grade 1 and one grade 3 immune effector-cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) event, per Kelonia’s press release. No delayed neurotoxicity was observed. This readout drew excited utterances from analysts at Leerink Partners, who told investors in a June 1 note that the data look “spectacular.” Jake Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology, was also chuffed. “The data are remarkable,” he told Fierce Biotech on Sunday, adding that the results were achieved in patients who were the sickest of the sick. “That is nutty,” he said. 4. Summit: China peak reached but global questions remain Lung cancer updates largely drove this year’s ASCO narrative, BMO said in a June 3 note, especially everyone’s favorite new modality: PD-(L)1/VEGF bispecifics, which “commanded the Symposium sessions and other notable orals.” Among these, Summit Therapeutics and Chinese partner Akeso were the headliners. Akeso showed analysts and clinicians what they wanted at ASCO—a 34% reduction in the risk of death in the Phase 3 HARMONi-6 trial, which assessed ivonescimab in patients in China with first-line advanced squamous NSCLC. Many questions remain for Summit, however. Chiefly, can ivonescimab replicate its success in a U.S.-based population? “PD-(L)1/VEGFs show promise without all answers delivered,” BMO wrote. “HARMONi-6 results are positive for the mechanism even if caveats are numerous,” the firm continued, adding that the trial “is a statistical win, but not a closing chapter.” Meanwhile, BMO analysts also gave a shout out to competitors BioNTech and BMS, whom they said “appeared to gain some momentum coming out of the weekend with global pumitamig data showing leading efficacy that could start to be recognized sooner than investors realize.” Immuno-oncology ASCO: Summit reached with China lung data but new climb begins to prove global benefit “King Keytruda’s reign continues,” analysts at BMO Capital Markets declared after Chinese data for Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab were revealed at the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago. June 1, 2026 · 3 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more 5. Pfizer: Waiting in the wings Pfizer’s presence and performance at ASCO may have been underrated. The New York–based giant presented new data for already-marketed drugs that could further cement them as strong treatment options and perhaps move them to earlier lines of therapy. But the best is yet to come, Leerink analyst David Risinger told BioSpace , with Pfizer’s key data expected later this year. That said, Pfizer did make the biggest pre-conference oncology splash, betting up to $12.5 billion on a 12-candidate cancer collaboration with China’s Innovent. This secured the fifth place on our list for the company. The “Innovent deal reflects interest in expanding on Pfizer’s ADC capabilities from the Seagen acquisition,” BMO wrote in a May 31 note. Pfizer finalized its $43 billion acquisition of the Seattle biotech in 2023, gaining Padcev and the much-anticipated sigvotatug vedotin. Indeed, the Innovent pact is meant to complement Pfizer’s existing Seagen portfolio, Chief Oncology Officer Jeff Legos told BMO over the weekend. 6. Immuneering: Joining the pancreatic cancer revolution Revolution is not the only company transforming the treatment landscape for patients with pancreatic cancer. Prior to ASCO, Immuneering revealed that in a Phase 2a trial, its candidate atebimetinib combined with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (mGnP) more than doubled median overall survival compared to patients given GnP in the pivotal Phase 3 MPACT study. Approved by the FDA in 2013, mGnP has been the standard of care for late-stage pancreatic cancer ever since. Immuneering elaborated on the data in an oral presentation at ASCO on Monday. Notably, the biotech observed only two categories of grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events in at least 10% of participants, both of which were related to the chemo. One patient discontinued treatment with atebimetinib. Despite the mostly positive data, Immuneering’s stock fell by as much as 24% on Monday—dropping the biotech to the bottom of our list of winners. Mizuho analysts said in a June 1 note that “the weakness appears way overdone,” however, attributing the drop to a “slight diminution of the ORR to 36% (vs. 39% previously)” and single patient dropout. After speaking with Immuneering management, Mizuho was unconcerned. Pancreatic cancer ASCO: Biopharma has pancreatic cancer ‘surrounded’ as Immuneering’s drug adds 9 quality months In addition to eliciting 17.3 months median overall survival vs. 8.5 months for patients given standard of care treatment in a prior study, Immuneering’s atebimetinib demonstrated a robust tolerability pro CEO Ben Zeskind said equates highly with survival. June 1, 2026 · 5 min read · Heather McKenzie Read more

Fresh off the buzz generated by Revolution Medicines' daraxonrasib over the weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference, Immuneering shared updated results suggesting its own RAS/MAPK-pathway approach may also have a role in improving survival outcomes in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).The company detailed data from a 55-patient expanded cohort treated in a single-arm Phase IIa study, where they achieved median overall survival (OS) of 17.3 months with atebimetinib (IMM-1-104) plus modified gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (mGnP) in the first-line setting, after a follow-up time of close to a year.Immuneering noted that in its original 34-patient cohort, which had had a longer follow-up time (close to 1.5 years), median OS was also 17.3 months. "The fact that overall survival is essentially the same as we increase the cohort by 21 patients further adds to the strength of the data," CEO Ben Zeskind said during a company call Monday.Against benchmarksFor context, the historical standard‑of‑care of GnP achieved a median 8.5 months of OS in the pivotal MPACT study over a decade ago. There are also two other standard treatment regimens available for first-line pancreatic cancer – FOLFIRINOX and NALIRIFOX – that are usually reserved for younger, fitter patients."Not only is our 17.3-month median overall survival well above those benchmarks, which each land around 11.1 months, but the curves show a steady separation across many months of treatment, not just at the median," Zeskind noted.Median progression-free survival reached 8.3 months, according to the latest findings, while confirmed overall response rate (ORR) was 36% and disease control rate (CDR) was 82%. The corresponding figures seen in the MPACT trial of GnP was a median 5.5 months of PFS, and ORR of 23% and DCR of 48%.Stock downHowever, investors appeared to need more convincing as company shares were down over 24% on Monday.The lack of monotherapy and comparator arms in Immuneering's study has been a question mark over the programme. In an interview with FirstWord last year, Cleveland Clinic oncologist Alok Khorana had described the earlier results as encouraging, but cautioned that their relevance can be difficult to ascertain."We have been burned before by celebrating too early in pancreatic cancer, where Phase II data look great but then Phase III does not pan out," Khorana said (see – KOL Views Q&A: Immuneering at – or near? – forefront of targeted Revolution in pancreatic cancer). Immuneering said dosing in its Phase III MAPKeeper 301 trial of atebimetinib plus modified GnP against standard first-line GnP is expected in mid-2026.'We have pancreatic cancer surrounded'On Monday's call, Zeskind pushed back on suggestions that the Phase III programme could be undermined by Revolution's splashy showing at ASCO, where the company said its RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor daraxonrasib nearly doubled median OS over chemotherapy in the Phase III RASolute 302 study in metastatic PDAC patients."It's great that there's sort of multiple companies attacking from different directions…There's a lot of excitement about data in second line," said Zeskind. "Our data today was 17.3 months median overall survival in first line. We're kind of attacking from the from the other direction. And we kind of have pancreatic cancer surrounded."Benefit and burdenThe company isn't just leaning on the promising survival data, however; the combo's relatively benign safety profile is another card they're playing. Immuneering said only two categories of treatment-related adverse events occurred at grade 3 or higher in at least 10% of patients, and both were attributed to chemotherapy. There were no grade 4 adverse events linked to atebimetinib and no treatment-related deaths."In oncology, even modest increases in survival frequently require patients to make serious trade-offs and accept a heavier toxicity burden. That does not appear to be the case here," Zeskind said. One participant did stop atebimetinib while continuing on mGnP, though the CEO said it was difficult to draw conclusions from a single patient experience.The company also suggested its treatment could help patients not only survive, but thrive, with 84% of participants maintaining stable weight or even gaining weight after three months of treatment. "Muscle wasting is a real challenge for these patients," said Zeskind. "We believe this preservation of body mass may contribute to survival."