SINGAPORE – While a lot of focus is placed on phase III trials and the subsequent approvals, panelists during the ESMO Asia Congress pointed to the importance of designing the right kind of phase I trials, from reaching global populations to using appropriate endpoints.

SINGAPORE – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. presented new findings from its phase III ALTA-1L trial evaluating its Alunbrig (brigatinib) vs. crizotinib in adults with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor, showing Alunbrig reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 76% after more than two years of follow-up.

SINGAPORE – Population-based cancer registries were a frequent focus of discussion at the ESMO Asia Congress.

SINGAPORE – As the ESMO Asia Congress 2019 brought 3,679 participants from all over the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to Singapore’s Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre, the focus, unsurprisingly, was on developments and challenges relevant to the oncology community in the region.

SHANGHAI – Although China still has a way to go to approve any CAR T therapy, clinical development is robust with various targets being studied, and the regulatory environment is improving, cell therapy experts said at the Chinatrials 12 Summit.

SHANGHAI – As Chinese biotech companies talk more about innovation, one question is whether they are ready to move into first-in-class drugs from me-too and fast follow-up drugs. Biotech executives said China still lacks the comprehensive ecosystem to support such time-consuming and high-risk R&D, but it is time to do so and they must go ahead.

SHANGHAI – With abundant venture capital and favorable policies, Chinese biotech companies are actively turning themselves from generic makers into innovation-driven players, but the market is getting crowded by too many companies focusing on the same area and even the same targets, a reality that is leading to a lack of differentiation in biotech innovation.

SHANGHAI – Now is the time for foreign pharmaceutical companies to include China in their strategies, as the country's recent regulatory reform, vast patient pool and lower costs represent opportunities to score approvals faster, said experts at the Chinatrials12 Summit.

HAMBURG, Germany – Like any other sector, biotechnology has to engage with the wider political and economic environment it inhabits, as well as deal with the issues that are specific to it. A BIO-Europe panel discussion on transformative deals in 2019 concluded with a slightly nervous look ahead to what is increasingly looking like an uncertain macroeconomic situation.

BOSTON – In a late-breaking oral presentation on the last day of The Liver Meeting 2019, Durect Corp. reported results from its phase IIa trial of DUR-928 for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis. All 19 patients enrolled in the study survived for 28 days after treatment with DUR-928 , and all but two responded to the drug as measured by Lille scores, which is used for predicting risk of death.