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What’s in Today’s Brief? (August 17th Preview)
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AstraZeneca pauses volrustomig Phase 3 in lung cancer
AstraZeneca stopped its Phase 3 trial of volrustomig in lung cancer after an independent data monitoring committee review found the bispecific did not show enough efficacy versus the existing standard comparator, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), based on interim results. The decision marks another setback for the company’s late-stage respiratory oncology pipeline.
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AstraZeneca halts additional late-stage lung cancer study
AstraZeneca also disclosed it is halting a separate lung cancer treatment trial involving volrustomig in combination with chemotherapy, citing findings that the regimen was unlikely to improve survival compared with another existing therapy. The company said the move followed a planned review of trial data by an independent data monitoring committee.
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Cretostimogene grenadenorepvec posts strong Phase 3 complete response in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC
Cretostimogene grenadenorepvec, an intravesical oncolytic immunotherapy, produced complete responses in 75% of patients with high-risk, BCG-unresponsive non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ in the Phase III BOND-003 Cohort C trial. The results, reported in The Lancet Oncology, showed many responses persisted through two years, with mostly mild and transient treatment-related adverse events.
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New tumor-organoid biobank maps drug and gene vulnerabilities
Researchers built an open, publicly available tumor organoid biobank comprising 256 clinically annotated models spanning colorectal, oesophageal, ovarian, pancreatic and gastric cancers, with genome-wide CRISPR–Cas9 screens across 162 organoids. The resource links patient genomics and clinical context to gene dependencies, including targetable pathway vulnerabilities revealed through functional and pharmacological interrogation, such as the EGFR–RAS–MAPK axis across KRAS variant alleles in colorectal cancer.
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PD-1 pathway coordinates brain antiviral immunity while limiting neuroinflammation
A new Nature Communications study details how PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) balances T-cell responses during viral infection in the brain, helping control pathogens without driving excessive immune-mediated neurological damage. Led by Butic, Afanasiev, Spencer and colleagues, the work frames PD-1 as a regulator of immune coordination in a setting where inflammatory activity can itself become harmful.
...and 5 more selected Biotech stories in today’s full edition — or archive.
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