What the European Society for Medical Oncology’s 2026 Congress means for biotech investors.
What the European Society for Medical Oncology’s 2026 Congress means for biotech investors.
We are paying close attention to this year’s ESMO congress. Several results we have followed all year will be presented in full, and they will show which novel therapies are crossing from proof of concept to standard of care, and at which stage of a patient’s treatment. That is where we believe durable value is created.
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) holds its annual congress from October 23 to 27, 2026, one of the two largest cancer conferences of the year and a key moment for the field.[i] Many of the companies with Phase 3 trials on the program have announced topline results but are keeping the full data under wraps until the meeting. The companies have said which endpoints were met, and now the congress will show how strong those data really are.
Our preview here follows four themes, each asking where a therapeutic sits on the path from clinical validation to commercial product. (If you like biotech as much as we do and want every detail, the latest trial results and upcoming catalysts are summarized at the end of this article.)
RTW’s Founder and CIO, Rod Wong, MD sees cancer as biotech’s flag bearer for the next decade. On episode 304 of The RTW Podcast he said the last cancer boom turned out to be mostly PD-1 drugs, and that this one should be even better because the therapeutic toolkit is so much broader.[ii]
“I think 10 years from now, all of first-generation naked chemotherapy will be replaced for all of the major tumor types by something better.”
Rod Wong, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, RTW Investments, on The RTW Podcast, Episode 304. Listen to the full conversation.
What Is on the ESMO 2026 Agenda for Investors?
There are four key themes on the program at ESMO:
Theme | Companies to watch |
mRNA-based immunotherapies (aka cancer vaccines) | Moderna, Merck |
RAS inhibitors | Revolution Medicines, Tango Therapeutics, GenFleet, Incyte |
Antibody-drug conjugates | Merck, Kelun-Biotech, Zai Lab, Arrivent, AstraZeneca/Keymed |
T-cell engagers and bispecific antibodies | Amgen, Xencor, Immatics, Akeso, Pfizer |
A list of catalysts treats each readout as a separate event. Several of these trials answer one shared question: whether any of these therapies become a platform addressing multiple cancer types or exist as a single use product.
What the Market Often Focuses On | What Drives Long-Term Value |
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How Should Investors Read an ESMO Readout?
What Is a Survival Curve? A survival curve shows what share of trial patients are still alive, or still free of cancer progression, at each point after treatment starts. Each line is one treatment group. Both lines start at 100% and step down as patients die or their cancer progresses, so a higher line means more patients doing well at that time. Overall survival counts deaths; progression-free and recurrence-free survival also count cancer growth or return, so they can show benefit sooner. The gap is the benefit. The new therapy line should sit above the control line and stay there. The tail builds a platform. A line that flattens above zero points to patients with a durable benefit. Illustrative only, not trial data. |
Read the size and shape of the survival curve, and whether the benefit holds when the drug is used earlier in a patient’s treatment, alongside other drugs, or in a second type of cancer, ahead of the endpoint headline (see the sidebar).
Individualized Cancer Vaccines: What Does the INTerpath-001 Trial Need to Show?
INTerpath-001, from Moderna and Merck, is the first Phase 3 readout for an mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy, a treatment built around the mutations in each patient’s own tumor. The companies announced in August that it met its primary endpoint at an interim analysis, and the full numbers are still to come.[iv] The platform case rests on the same approach already being tested in lung and kidney cancer.[v] Watch the survival curve, then ask what the same effect size would be worth in other tumor types. A modest recurrence-free survival benefit would confirm a product in post-surgery melanoma treatment, and a large one would validate a platform.
Which RAS Inhibitors and Combinations Will Win After Rasonque?
Mutated RAS acts like a stuck accelerator, driving cancer cell growth, as we described in ASCO Intelligence #2. For three decades it was the standard example of a cancer driver that could not be drugged. On August 26, 2026, the FDA approved Revolution Medicines’ Rasonque™ (daraxonrasib) for metastatic pancreatic cancer, the first RAS-directed therapy approved in that disease, after a Phase 3 trial showed median survival (the point at which half of patients are still alive) of 13.2 months against 6.7 months on chemotherapy.[vi] The winners from here will likely emerge from three directions: head-to-head trials, where Roche reports its next-generation inhibitor beat the first-generation drugs in lung cancer;[vii] combinations, such as Tango Therapeutics’ early pancreatic cancer results, which come from a small number of patients and need to hold as the numbers grow;[viii] and drugs aimed at specific mutations such as G12D, where Rasonque produced lower response rates.[ix] Our read is that Rasonque is a breakthrough for pancreatic cancer patients, and that the next gains will come from the patients it helps less.
Where Are Antibody-Drug Conjugates Headed at ESMO 2026?
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) link a chemotherapy drug to an antibody that steers it to tumor cells. The use of ADCs is expanding into earlier use in a patient’s treatment, such as first-line therapy (the first treatment after diagnosis), and new cancer targets. Merck’s sacituzumab tirumotecan met both overall and progression-free survival endpoints in a Phase 3 trial in previously treated endometrial cancer,[x] and is being tested in first-line lung cancer, a direct challenge to the current standard of care.[xi] [xii] and Zai Lab shows first global data for an ADC against DLL3 in first-line small cell lung cancer.[xiii] The question for investors is how much of the market a drug can win. A trial in patients whose first treatment has stopped working supports one product. A win in newly diagnosed patients, or against a new target, can replace the treatment doctors use today.
4. Can T-Cell Engagers and Bispecifics Work in Solid Tumors?
T-cell engagers are antibodies that direct a patient’s T cells to tumor cells. They earned their first approvals in blood cancers,[xiv] and several large Phase 3 trials now test them in solid tumors. Amgen said in September that its tarlatamab plus durvalumab trial in first-line small cell lung cancer met its primary endpoint of overall survival, and gave no figures.[xv] Xencor will show early data for a T-cell engager in kidney cancer.[xvi] Bispecific antibodies are also in focus: Akeso reported an interim survival benefit for ivonescimab, a PD-1 and VEGF bispecific, over an approved checkpoint inhibitor regimen in biliary tract cancer, though the trial was run in a single geography and a global trial is needed before it bears on U.S. practice.[xvii]
What Is RTW's Take on ESMO 2026?
Four modalities are moving from proof of concept toward standard of care at the same time. Three already have an approved product, and the fourth, the individualized vaccine, is reporting its first Phase 3. Some also include hints as to whether they can become a platform addressing multiple indications. This is at the center of our view that biotech is in a golden age of innovation: the boom of five to ten years ago is now producing medicines that have become real businesses, and a franchise is what that looks like in oncology.[xviii]
In his book, Innovation Is the Best Medicine®, Rod Wong describes the Innovation Treadmill: the bargain that rewards a new therapy with a period of exclusivity and then forces the next one.[xix] ESMO 2026 shows the treadmill at work in oncology: the chemotherapy regimens being displaced by new therapies were the innovations of an earlier cycle. The question for an investor is which of this year's winners will still be the standard of care when the next cycle arrives. The answer lies in the mechanism, the breadth of the platform and the quality of the treatment combinations.
See the Appendix for a more detailed look at the latest trial results and upcoming catalysts.
Appendix: The Details Behind the Four Themes
Latest trial results and upcoming catalysts, with sources. Company-reported results only; late-breaking efficacy figures remain embargoed until presentation.
Individualized Cancer Vaccines
INTerpath-001 is the Phase 3 trial of intismeran autogene plus pembrolizumab against pembrolizumab alone as adjuvant therapy for resected stage IIB to IV melanoma.[20] Merck and Moderna announced on August 19 that the trial met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival and its key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival at a prespecified interim analysis, in a randomized, double-blind study of 1,137 patients.[21] No hazard ratios were disclosed at the time. Because the positive results came from an interim analysis, the hazard ratio had to clear a stricter threshold than a final analysis would require, which may be one reason expectations run high.
This is the first Phase 3 readout for an mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy, a treatment built around the mutations in each patient's own tumor. The platform case rests on the same approach already in Phase 3 in early-stage lung cancer and Phase 1 in resectable pancreatic cancer, both of which are on the Madrid program.[22] Watch the recurrence-free survival curve, then ask what the same effect size would be worth in lung cancer, kidney cancer and beyond.
RAS Inhibitors
On August 26, 2026, the FDA approved daraxonrasib (Rasonque, Revolution Medicines) for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma after at least one prior systemic therapy, the first RAS-directed therapy approved in that disease. In the RASolute 302 trial, median overall survival was 13.2 months on daraxonrasib against 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy, a hazard ratio of 0.40.[23] The approval came roughly six and a half months ahead of the FDA goal date.[24]
The three directions:
Krascendo 1 (LBA5) is the first head-to-head Phase 3 of a next-generation KRAS G12C inhibitor against the approved first-generation agents: Roche reported on July 2 that divarasib beat sotorasib or adagrasib on progression-free and overall survival in 338 previously treated patients with KRAS G12C-mutant lung cancer.[25] If the absolute differences are large, the first-generation agents' second-line position comes under pressure.
The second direction is combination. Tango Therapeutics will present Phase 1/2 data on vopimetostat, its PRMT5 inhibitor, in combination with Revolution Medicines' RAS(ON) inhibitors in patients with MTAP-deleted, RAS-mutant pancreatic cancer.[26] The mechanism is synthetic lethality: roughly 40% of pancreatic cancers carry an MTAP deletion, and those cells depend on PRMT5 to survive. Tango reported preclinical synergy between PRMT5 and RAS inhibition in MTAP-deleted cells; the combination is the clinical test of that idea.[27] Tango's initial data in June showed an objective response rate of 92% in 12 evaluable patients treated with vopimetostat plus daraxonrasib, with 90% of patients progression-free at six months, in a heavily pretreated population.[28] For context, daraxonrasib alone produced a 30% response rate in RASolute 302; a 12-patient cohort against a 500-patient trial is indicative at best.[29] Twelve patients is a small number, and the responses were not all confirmed at the cutoff. The Madrid update will show whether the response rate holds as the denominator grows, which is the question that matters for the Phase 3 trial Tango plans to design this year.[30]
The third direction is the mutation subtype. Endpoints News reported on October 9, citing the FDA's review documents for Rasonque, that KRAS G12D patients in RASolute 302 had a 24% response rate on daraxonrasib against 50% for G12V and 32% overall, with the FDA reviewers noting the analyses were not powered for subtype comparisons.[31] G12D is the most common RAS mutation in pancreatic cancer, at roughly 40% of cases, so that gap is the opening G12D-selective inhibitors are aiming for. Revolution Medicines began dosing RASolute 309 on October 5, a Phase 3 of daraxonrasib plus its G12D-selective inhibitor zoldonrasib against chemotherapy in first-line G12D pancreatic cancer.[32] Incyte presents Phase 1 data on its G12D inhibitor INCB161734 with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer in a rapid oral session, with a first-line Phase 3 already under way.[33] Tango's June data included a zoldonrasib arm in MTAP-deleted G12D patients with a 52% response rate in 27 evaluable patients.[34]
Antibody-Drug Conjugates
Merck's sacituzumab tirumotecan appears in three late-breaking slots.
TroFuse-005 (LBA11) met both primary endpoints, overall and progression-free survival, against chemotherapy in 776 patients with previously treated endometrial cancer, per Merck's May 18 announcement.[35] OptiTROP-Lung06 (LBA66) tests the same drug plus pembrolizumab against chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab in first-line PD-L1-negative non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, a direct challenge to the current first-line standard, and OptiTROP-Lung04 (LBA67) reports final overall survival after EGFR-inhibitor failure.[36]
Two ADCs against Claudin 18.2, a gastric cancer target with one approved antibody, zolbetuximab, since October 2024, present Phase 3 data: sonesitatug vedotin in CLARITY-Gastric01 and arcotatug tavatecan in G-HOPE-001 (LBA77).Two early-stage presentations show where the ADC field goes next. Zai Lab presents the first global data for zocilurtatug pelitecan, a DLL3 ADC, with atezolizumab with or without carboplatin in first-line extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.[37] ArriVent's ARR-217, a CDH17 ADC, is expected to show first Phase 1 data in metastatic colorectal cancer [LBA34].[38] Neither moves a standard of care this year. Zai Lab already has a Phase 3 in second-line disease, so its question is whether DLL3 can anchor a front-line combination; ArriVent's is whether CDH17 is a viable ADC target at all.
T-Cell Engagers and Bispecifics
CD3 T-cell engagers earned their first approvals in hematology: teclistamab in multiple myeloma in October 2022 and epcoritamab in large B-cell lymphoma in May 2023.[39] DeLLphi-305 (LBA3) tested tarlatamab, a DLL3-directed T-cell engager, plus durvalumab as first-line maintenance in 563 patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Amgen said on September 8 that the trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival at a prespecified interim analysis, with progression-free survival and response rate also improved, and gave no figures.[40]
The early-stage marker here is Xencor's XmAb819, an ENPP3 x CD3 T-cell engager in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma, with a proffered paper oral (3588O) on the expansion cohorts being evaluated for Phase 3 dosing ahead of a registration-enabling study Xencor expects to start in 2027.[41] A registration-enabling study would make XmAb819 one of the first T-cell engagers to reach late-stage development in kidney cancer, so response durability in that session is the number to watch.
HARMONi-GI1 (LBA8) compares ivonescimab, a PD-1 and VEGF bispecific, plus chemotherapy against durvalumab plus chemotherapy in first-line biliary tract cancer; Akeso reported an interim overall survival benefit in August.[42] The study was run in a single geography, so a global trial is needed before it bears on U.S. practice. For the modality, a bispecific beating an approved checkpoint inhibitor on survival would reset expectations for PD-1 combinations more broadly.
Pfizer is in the same lane with updated Phase 2 data for tivunatamig, its PD-1 and VEGF bispecific, plus chemotherapy in first-line PD-L1-expressing lung cancer (2660P); pivotal studies are already running in lung, colorectal and endometrial cancer.[43]
What to Watch After the Congress
The congress sets up the year-end calendar. For RAS, Tango expects to finalize a first-line Phase 3 design in MTAP-deleted pancreatic cancer and to start a combination study with Erasca's ERAS-0015 by the end of 2026.[44] For the individualized vaccine, Merck and Moderna plan to discuss regulatory submissions with authorities following the data presentation.[45] For the ADC and bispecific programs, the next step is a regulatory filing, and its timing is one signal of sponsor confidence.
Statements reflect RTW’s views and opinions as of the date hereof. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice and are not intended to be a forecast of future events or results. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. As of the publication date, funds and accounts managed by RTW Investments, LP hold investments in [Company A] and [Company B], and RTW has a financial interest in their success. These holdings do not represent all RTW investments. Views and holdings may change without notice.
Endnotes
[1] European Society for Medical Oncology, "ESMO Congress 2026," meeting calendar, https://esmo.org/meeting-calendar/esmo-congress-2026 (accessed October 8, 2026).
[2] RTW Investments, The RTW Podcast, Episode 304, “Biotech’s Early Innings: The Signals Investors Should Watch For.” Rod Wong in conversation with Stephanie Sirota, chapter “The Decade of Oncology” (begins 12:53); recorded September 18, 2026.
[3] RTW Investments, The RTW Podcast, Episode 304, cited above.
[4] Merck and Moderna, "Merck and Moderna Announce Phase 3 INTerpath-001 Trial of Intismeran Autogene Plus KEYTRUDA Met Endpoints of Recurrence-Free Survival and Distant Metastasis-Free Survival in Patients with Completely Resected Stage IIB-IV Melanoma," press release, August 19, 2026, https://s2.q4cdn.com/584635680/files/doc_news/Merck-and-Moderna-Announce-Phase-3-INTerpath-001-Trial-of-Intismeran-Autogene-Plus-KEYTRUDA-Met-Endpoints-of-Recurrence-Free-Survival-FOTAJ.pdf.
[5] Moderna, "Moderna Announces Late-Breaking Data to be Presented at ESMO Congress 2026," press release, September 21, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/moderna-announces-late-breaking-data-to-be-presented-at-esmo-congress-2026.
[6] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "FDA approves daraxonrasib for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma," August 26, 2026, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-daraxonrasib-metastatic-pancreatic-adenocarcinoma.
[7] Roche, "Roche's divarasib shows superiority in head-to-head phase III trial against approved KRAS G12C inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer," media release, July 2, 2026, https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2026-07-02.
[8] Tango Therapeutics, "Tango Therapeutics Announces Combination of Vopimetostat and Daraxonrasib Demonstrated 92% Objective Response Rate in Pancreatic Cancer," press release, June 8, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/tango-therapeutics-announces-combination-of-vopimetostat-and-daraxonrasib-demonstrated-92-objective-response-rate-in-pancreatic-cancer.
[9] Endpoints News, "New data on RevMed's Rasonque leave potential opening for other treatments," October 9, 2026.
[10] Merck, "Merck Announces TroFuse-005 Trial Evaluating Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (sac-TMT) Met Primary Endpoints of Overall Survival (OS) and Progression-Free Survival (PFS) in Certain Patients with Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer," press release, May 18, 2026, https://www.merck.com/news/merck-announces-trofuse-005-trial-evaluating-sacituzumab-tirumotecan-sac-tmt-met-primary-endpoints-of-overall-survival-os-and-progression-free-survival-pfs-in-certain-patients-with-advanced-or-r/.
[11] Kelun-Biotech, "Multiple Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (sac-TMT) Studies Selected as LBAs at ESMO 2026; OptiTROP-Lung04 and OptiTROP-Lung06 to be Presented in the Lung Cancer Session," press release, September 22, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/multiple-sacituzumab-tirumotecan-sac-tmt-studies-selected-as-lbas-at-esmo-2026-optitrop-lung04-and-optitrop-lung06-to-be-presented-in-the-lung-cancer-session-302885820.html.
[12] Pfizer, "Pfizer Advances Today's Cancer Care and Tomorrow's Potential Breakthroughs at ESMO," press release, September 28, 2026, https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-advances-todays-cancer-care-and-tomorrows-potential.
[13] Zai Lab, "Zai Lab to Present First Global Data from Clinical Trial Evaluating Zocilurtatug Pelitecan (Zoci) as First-Line Treatment for Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC)," press release, September 29, 2026, https://secure.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929210432/en/.
[14] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "FDA grants accelerated approval to epcoritamab-bysp for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and high-grade B-cell lymphoma," May 19, 2023, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-grants-accelerated-approval-epcoritamab-bysp-relapsed-or-refractory-diffuse-large-b-cell; teclistamab-cqyv accelerated approval, October 25, 2022 (FDA notice to be linked before publication).
[15] Amgen, "IMDELLTRA in Combination with IMFINZI Demonstrated Landmark Improvement in Overall Survival in First-Line Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer," press release, September 8, 2026, https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2026/09/imdelltra-in-combination-with-imfinzi-demonstrated-landmark-improvement-in-overall-survival-in-first-line-extensive-stage-small-cell-lung-cancer.
[16] Xencor, "Xencor Announces Proffered Paper Oral Presentation at ESMO 2026 for Phase 1 Clinical Study of XmAb819 in Advanced Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma," press release, July 17, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/xencor-announces-proffered-paper-oral-presentation-at-esmo-2026-for-phase-1-clinical-study-of-xmab819-in-advanced-clear-cell-renal-cell-carcinoma.
[17] Akeso, "Ivonescimab First-Line Biliary Tract Cancer Phase III Overall Survival Data Selected as ESMO Late-Breaking Abstract; Nearly 30 Akeso Studies to Be Presented at ESMO 2026," press release, September 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ivonescimab-first-line-biliary-tract-cancer-phase-iii-overall-survival-data-selected-as-esmo-late-breaking-abstract-nearly-30-akeso-studies-to-be-presented-at-esmo-2026-302885329.html.
[18] Rod Wong, “When 10,000 doctors stood up and cheered for a cancer drug,” Fortune, July 25, 2026. RTW Investments, The RTW Podcast, Episode 304, chapter “What’s Driving the Recovery Now” (begins 09:20).
[19] Rod Wong, Innovation Is the Best Medicine®, Chapter 1, pg. 9 (the Innovation Treadmill framework).
[20] Moderna, "Moderna Announces Late-Breaking Data to be Presented at ESMO Congress 2026," press release, September 21, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/moderna-announces-late-breaking-data-to-be-presented-at-esmo-congress-2026.
[21] Merck and Moderna, "Merck and Moderna Announce Phase 3 INTerpath-001 Trial of Intismeran Autogene Plus KEYTRUDA Met Endpoints of Recurrence-Free Survival and Distant Metastasis-Free Survival in Patients with Completely Resected Stage IIB-IV Melanoma," press release, August 19, 2026, https://s2.q4cdn.com/584635680/files/doc_news/Merck-and-Moderna-Announce-Phase-3-INTerpath-001-Trial-of-Intismeran-Autogene-Plus-KEYTRUDA-Met-Endpoints-of-Recurrence-Free-Survival-FOTAJ.pdf.
[22] Moderna, press release, September 21, 2026, cited above.
[23] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "FDA approves daraxonrasib for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma," August 26, 2026, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-daraxonrasib-metastatic-pancreatic-adenocarcinoma.
[24] FDA, August 26, 2026, cited above.
[25] Roche, "Roche's divarasib shows superiority in head-to-head phase III trial against approved KRAS G12C inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer," media release, July 2, 2026, https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2026-07-02.
[26] Tango Therapeutics, "Tango Therapeutics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Business Highlights," press release, August 11, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/08/11/3342532/0/en/tango-therapeutics-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results-and-provides-business-highlights.html.
[27] Tango Therapeutics, "Tango Therapeutics Announces Combination of Vopimetostat and Daraxonrasib Demonstrated 92% Objective Response Rate in Pancreatic Cancer," press release, June 8, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/tango-therapeutics-announces-combination-of-vopimetostat-and-daraxonrasib-demonstrated-92-objective-response-rate-in-pancreatic-cancer.
[28] Tango Therapeutics, press release, June 8, 2026, cited above.
[29] FDA, August 26, 2026, cited above.
[30] Tango Therapeutics, press release, August 11, 2026, cited above.
[31] Endpoints News, "New data on RevMed's Rasonque leave potential opening for other treatments," October 9, 2026.
[32] Revolution Medicines, "Revolution Medicines Begins Treating Patients in Phase 3 RASolute 309 Trial Evaluating RASONQUE (daraxonrasib) plus Zoldonrasib as First-Line Treatment for Metastatic RAS G12D Pancreatic Cancer," press release, October 5, 2026, https://ir.revmed.com/news-releases/news-release-details/revolution-medicines-begins-treating-patients-phase-3-rasolute-0. NCT07805954.
[33] Incyte, "Incyte Data to be Highlighted in Four Rapid Oral Presentations at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026," press release, July 17, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/incyte-data-to-be-highlighted-in-four-rapid-oral-presentations-at-the-european-society-for-medical-oncology-esmo-congress-2026-support-efforts-to-improve-outcomes-in-difficult-to-treat-cancers.
[34] Tango Therapeutics, press release, June 8, 2026, cited above. Zoldonrasib arm: 14 of 27 responses, 10 confirmed, in patients with MTAP deletion and KRAS G12D mutation.
[35] Merck, "Merck Announces TroFuse-005 Trial Evaluating Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (sac-TMT) Met Primary Endpoints of Overall Survival (OS) and Progression-Free Survival (PFS) in Certain Patients with Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer," press release, May 18, 2026, https://www.merck.com/news/merck-announces-trofuse-005-trial-evaluating-sacituzumab-tirumotecan-sac-tmt-met-primary-endpoints-of-overall-survival-os-and-progression-free-survival-pfs-in-certain-patients-with-advanced-or-r/.
[36] Kelun-Biotech, "Multiple Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (sac-TMT) Studies Selected as LBAs at ESMO 2026; OptiTROP-Lung04 and OptiTROP-Lung06 to be Presented in the Lung Cancer Session," press release, September 22, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/multiple-sacituzumab-tirumotecan-sac-tmt-studies-selected-as-lbas-at-esmo-2026-optitrop-lung04-and-optitrop-lung06-to-be-presented-in-the-lung-cancer-session-302885820.html.
[37] Zai Lab, "Zai Lab to Present First Global Data from Clinical Trial Evaluating Zocilurtatug Pelitecan (Zoci) as First-Line Treatment for Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC)," press release, September 29, 2026, https://secure.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929210432/en/.
[38] ArriVent BioPharma, "ArriVent BioPharma Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results," press release, August 12, 2026, https://ir.arrivent.com/node/7806/pdf.
[39] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "FDA grants accelerated approval to epcoritamab-bysp for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and high-grade B-cell lymphoma," May 19, 2023, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-grants-accelerated-approval-epcoritamab-bysp-relapsed-or-refractory-diffuse-large-b-cell; teclistamab-cqyv accelerated approval, October 25, 2022 (FDA notice to be linked before publication).
[40] Amgen, "IMDELLTRA in Combination with IMFINZI Demonstrated Landmark Improvement in Overall Survival in First-Line Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer," press release, September 8, 2026, https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2026/09/imdelltra-in-combination-with-imfinzi-demonstrated-landmark-improvement-in-overall-survival-in-first-line-extensive-stage-small-cell-lung-cancer.
[41] Xencor, "Xencor Announces Proffered Paper Oral Presentation at ESMO 2026 for Phase 1 Clinical Study of XmAb819 in Advanced Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma," press release, July 17, 2026, https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/xencor-announces-proffered-paper-oral-presentation-at-esmo-2026-for-phase-1-clinical-study-of-xmab819-in-advanced-clear-cell-renal-cell-carcinoma.
[42] Akeso, "Ivonescimab First-Line Biliary Tract Cancer Phase III Overall Survival Data Selected as ESMO Late-Breaking Abstract; Nearly 30 Akeso Studies to Be Presented at ESMO 2026," press release, September 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ivonescimab-first-line-biliary-tract-cancer-phase-iii-overall-survival-data-selected-as-esmo-late-breaking-abstract-nearly-30-akeso-studies-to-be-presented-at-esmo-2026-302885329.html.
[43] Pfizer, press release, September 28, 2026, cited above.
[44] Tango Therapeutics, press release, August 11, 2026, cited above.
[45] Merck and Moderna, press release, August 19, 2026, cited above.
