The Tumor-Agnostic Developer’s Toolkit

Last year saw a continuation of the emerging trend within oncology of developing drugs that are tumor agnostic, designed to be used in patients whose tumor is characterized not by its location, but rather by a molecular or genetic signature. Most recently, the FDA approved Roche’s TRK inhibitor Rozlytrek (entrectinib) for patients with NTRK gene fusion-positive solid tumors, prompting then-FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless to effuse about the therapeutic potential of this personalized, precision oncology approach.“We are in an exciting era of innovation in cancer treatment as we continue to see development in tissue agnostic therapies, which have the potential to transform cancer treatment,” Sharpless said in August 2019.

In Vivo has explored whether tumor-agnostic drug development is set to become more prevalent and part of best practice within...