ESMO Congress 2026

NMPA Approves Merck's Subcutaneous Pembrolizumab, First PD-1 Injection of Its Kind in China

China's NMPA has approved Merck's pembrolizumab injection for subcutaneous use (MK-3475A), making it the first subcutaneous PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved in the country. The formulation combines pembrolizumab with berahyaluronidase alfa (ALT-B4), a recombinant human hyaluronidase variant developed and manufactured by South Korea's Alteogen. The approval appeared on the NMPA website on September 28.

Tumour extrinsic neutrophil regulation in mesothelioma correlates with responsiveness to AXL and PD1 inhibition in MIST3, a phase IIA clinical trial

AXL and PD1 inhibition with bemcentinib plus pembrolizumab met its primary endpoint in the phase IIA MIST3 trial in ICB naïve-relapsed mesothelioma, with a 12-week disease control rate of 46.2% (90% CI 29.2-63.8%); grade 3 or greater adverse events occurred in 53.9% of patients. Multiomic analyses linked response to NF2 loss, immune response signalling, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and neutrophil-related transcriptional programmes including SPI1, ETS2 and FLI1 activation. Gut microbiota composition differed between responders and non-responders and correlated with neutrophil-associated transcription programmes, IRF3 and TLR2.

Vaccines for Cancer: A Translational Science Review.

AK112 Extends Overall Survival Over Pembrolizumab in HARMONi-2 Phase 3 NSCLC Trial

Ivonescimab (AK112) significantly improved overall survival versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in the phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial, raising median OS to 30.75 months from 22.57 months and reducing the risk of death by 27% in first-line advanced wild-type NSCLC with TPS at least 1%. The OS result, presented at WCLC, follows the previously reported PFS benefit, with median PFS of 11.1 months versus 5.8 months (HR=0.51). AK112 is the first domestic Chinese innovative drug to beat pembrolizumab head-to-head in a phase 3 lung cancer trial.

Intratumoral Sotigalimab with Pembrolizumab Induces Rapid Activation of Antigen-Presenting Cells and Drives Antitumor Responses in Non-injected Tumors in Metastatic Melanoma: A Phase I/II Study

Moderna mRNA-4157 Personalized Neoantigen Vaccine with Pembrolizumab Improves RFS and DMFS in Phase III Melanoma

In a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled phase III trial in high-risk melanoma, Moderna's personalized neoantigen vaccine mRNA-4157 combined with pembrolizumab significantly improved both recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival over pembrolizumab alone. The article calls it the first personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine to succeed in a large randomized phase III trial. Tumor sequencing selects up to 34 patient-specific neoantigens; the mRNA vaccine is delivered by LNP into dendritic cells, activating endogenous T cells and inducing epitope spreading.

Moderna and Merck Announce intismeran Plus KEYTRUDA Adjuvant Melanoma Trial Hits RFS and DMFS Endpoints

Merck and Moderna jointly announced that the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene (V940/mRNA-4157) combined with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as adjuvant therapy for completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma met both its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The companies plan to present detailed data at an upcoming international medical conference.

Merck and Moderna mRNA Cancer Vaccine Phase III Trial Meets Primary Endpoint, Reducing Melanoma Recurrence and Metastasis Risk

Merck and Moderna's individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy intismeran autogene, combined with KEYTRUDA as adjuvant therapy for patients with fully resected stage IIB-IV melanoma, met the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in a Phase III trial.

Moderna and Merck intismeran plus pembrolizumab posts positive Phase III topline in melanoma adjuvant therapy

Moderna and Merck jointly announced that the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial of the personalized mRNA neoantigen therapy intismeran (V940/mRNA-4157) combined with pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy for melanoma met positive topline results. Each intismeran course encodes up to 34 neoantigens, tailored to each patient's tumor mutation profile; Moderna shares surged 177% on the news.

Moderna, Merck Phase III win opens door to personalized neoantigen vaccines

An interim analysis of the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial, run by Moderna and Merck, met its primary endpoint. Adjuvant treatment with intismeran autogene plus Keytruda improved recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma and met the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The results provide key Phase III evidence for personalized neoantigen vaccines in melanoma adjuvant therapy.

AstraZeneca Stops Late-Stage eVOLVE-Lung02 Trial of Volrustomig Plus Chemotherapy After Failure

AstraZeneca announced it will terminate the late-stage eVOLVE-Lung02 trial, which evaluated volrustomig plus chemotherapy versus pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression below 50%. The safety profile was consistent with the known profiles of each agent alone, with no new safety signals identified. The company did not specify the reason for termination.

AstraZeneca Discontinues Phase III NSCLC Trial of PD-1/CTLA-4 Bispecific Volrustomig

AstraZeneca has discontinued the Phase III eVOLVE-Lung02 trial of the PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody volrustomig, following a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee after a planned review of trial data. The randomized, open-label, multicenter global Phase III trial enrolled 895 patients with metastatic NSCLC and PD-L1 expression below 50% across 25 countries, randomized 1:1 to volrustomig plus chemotherapy or pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.

AstraZeneca Stops Phase 3 eVOLVE-Lung02 as volrustomig Fails to Beat Pembrolizumab in First-Line Lung Cancer

On August 17, 2026, AstraZeneca announced termination of the phase 3 eVOLVE-Lung02 study. The trial evaluated the PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody volrustomig (MEDI572) plus chemotherapy versus pembrolizumab as first-line lung cancer treatment, and was stopped early because the PFS and OS primary endpoints were not expected to be met.

AbbVie Registers Phase III NSCLC Trial of ABBV-1480 Versus Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo

AbbVie has registered a Phase III trial (NCT07756645) on ClinicalTrials.gov comparing ABBV-1480 plus chemotherapy against pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in 940 patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. ABBV-1480 (RC148) is a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from RemeGen that AbbVie licensed in January for ex-Greater China rights with $650 million upfront and a $5.5 billion total deal value. The trial is expected to start in September 2026 and finish in December 2029, with PFS and OS as primary endpoints.

🎉 Exciting #AACR26 highlights!

Dr. Barbara Burtness shares Phase 2 data combining the IO102-IO103 cancer vaccine w pembrolizumab in resectable head and neck cancer. The...

Efforts are also focused on developing novel approaches like DNA-based immune reprogramming, combination therapies targeting RAS-driven c...

We’re here at #AACR26!

Excited to be presenting our study under

The combination of PLN-101095, an oral dual inhibitor of integrin αvβ8/αvβ1, and pembrolizumab has been shown in a phase 1 trial to be po...

New data at #AACR26:

Gets #CCR8-real tomorrow at #AACR26. "AMG 355 was safe and tolerable at doses up to 700 mg, but clinical activity as a single agent or c...