Daily Snap - 20. October 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
October 20, 2025

Good morning! The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual congress wraps up tomorrow in Berlin, bringing with it a wave of fresh cancer trials data (as you will see in this newsletter). Fun fact: ESMO was founded in 1975 by a group of French oncologists who wanted a European counterpart to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The founders even debated whether the congress should run in French or English (luckily, English won). Originally held every two years in Nice, ESMO expanded internationally in the 1990s and has since become one of the world’s most influential oncology gatherings. Here’s a bit of trivia you can casually drop at your next dinner party.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E. 

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

💉Needle-free: Rani Therapeutics has entered a collaboration with Roche’s Chugai Pharmaceutical worth up to $1.085 billion to develop oral versions of injectable biologics, focusing on rare disease and immunology treatments. Central to the deal is Rani’s RaniPill, a robotic capsule that delivers drugs via transenteric injection in the intestine, bypassing degradation in the stomach. The agreement includes $10 million upfront. Rani also raised $60.3 million in private funding to support operations through 2028.

 💰CAR-T payday: Gilead Sciences' Kite Pharma has signed a collaboration deal worth up to $1.64 billion with China’s Pregene Biopharma to develop in vivo CAR-T therapies, marking its second major investment in this emerging area. The agreement includes a $120 million upfront payment, with Pregene eligible for up to $1.52 billion in milestone payments. The partnership aims to accelerate the development of next-generation treatments, particularly in oncology and autoimmune diseases, by leveraging Pregene’s high-throughput cell therapy platform and manufacturing technologies. This move follows Kite’s $350 million acquisition of Interius BioTherapeutics and reflects growing industry interest in scalable, in-body CAR-T approaches over traditional ex vivo methods.

🚪Pharma opt-out: Astellas has opted not to license Taysha Gene Therapies’ lead gene therapy candidate, TSHA-102, for Rett syndrome, ending a collaboration that began in 2022 with a $50 million investment for equity and licensing options. The decision follows a review of mid-2025 phase 1/2 data, which showed a favorable safety profile and developmental milestone improvements, supporting the therapy’s FDA breakthrough designation. With Astellas walking away for a second time, Taysha regains full rights and plans to begin a pivotal trial this quarter. The move reflects Astellas’ strategic shift toward later-stage assets amid broader pharma industry caution around early-stage gene therapies.

🧬 ADC power: Bristol Myers Squibb reported a 55% confirmed overall response rate from a global phase 1 trial cohort of its EGFRxHER3 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren). The highlighted cohort involved 20 patients receiving a 2.5-mg/kg dose, with notable subgroup responses in non-small cell lung cancer (42.9%) and breast cancer (100%). The ADC, licensed from SystImmune for up to $8.4 billion, showed consistent global and China-based efficacy data. While hematologic adverse events were common, BMS expects mitigation in future studies using standard supportive care measures.

♀️Ovarian impact: AstraZeneca showcased encouraging early data for its in-house ADC, AZD5335, reinforcing its strategy to develop next-generation ADCs internally rather than through external partnerships. In a phase 1/2a trial involving 189 patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, AZD5335 showed overall response rates of 49.2% to 56.1% across three dose cohorts, with 56.2% of patients avoiding disease progression at a median 7.8-month follow-up. The most common adverse event was neutropenia, especially at higher doses, but safety was deemed manageable. AstraZeneca sees these results as validation of its proprietary linker and payload platform and a foundation for further ADC innovation.

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