Summit Therapeutics plc and Chinese partner Akeso Inc.'s quest to develop a potential global challenger to Merck & Co., Inc.’s blockbuster Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in the advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) space is poised to expand to the US firm’s most formidable stronghold – as a monotherapy for the first-line treatment of tumors with PD-L1-high expression (PD-L1 TPS (tumor promotion score) >50%).
ASCO: Ivonescimab A New Challenger To Keytruda In 1L, PD-L1-High NSCLC?
Akeso/Summit Release New Head-To-Head Results
Backed by strong progression-free survival results from the China-only, head-to-head HARMONi-2 trial, Akeso/Summit’s ivonescimab could be set to become a global contender against established standard of care Keytruda in first-line, PD-L1-high non-small cell lung cancer.

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UK pharma will invest $2.5bn in Beijing R&D hub, build a vaccine manufacturing site with BioKangtai, and partner in chronic disease with Syneron and in oncology/immunology with Harbour BioMed.
While diverging from partner Merck & Co. in its study dosage of sacituzumab tirumotecan, Kelun has garnered the world’s first approval, in China, for a TROP2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, for the treatment of lung cancer.
Chinese biotech TYK Medicines says its EGFR inhibitor outperformed AstraZeneca’s same-class blockbuster Tagrisso in a pivotal Phase II trial for first-line use in brain metastases resulting from EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer.
Following approvals in China, Trinomab and Keymed have become world-first movers in tetanus prophylaxis and seasonal allergic rhinitis, respectively. But Lepu and RDO Pharm have seen their hopes for approval of an EGFR-targeting antibody-drug conjugate and an imaging agent fizzle.
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Professor Anil Koul shares vignettes of his life and career trajectory, a captivating mix of hope, science and destiny that took him to the lab of eminent cancer biologist Alex Ullrich at the Max Planck Institute and also saw him contribute to the development of breakthrough TB drug bedaquiline. He also talks about Medicine 3.0 and the intersection of science and spirituality.
UK pharma will invest $2.5bn in Beijing R&D hub, build a vaccine manufacturing site with BioKangtai, and partner in chronic disease with Syneron and in oncology/immunology with Harbour BioMed.
A new report from a domestic institute on South Korea’s biopharma M&A trends shows a pickup in activity, but that this remains relatively weak and small-scale. It calls for broader domestic government support to build expertise, drive innovation and globalization.