K-Bio Presence Shines at ESMO... ADCs and Epigenetics Emerge as Key Strengths

At One of the World’s Top Three Cancer Conferences,
Hanmi Pharmaceutical, LegoChem, and Others Showcase Their Technological Capabilities

The main focus at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), one of the world's top three cancer conferences, was on "actual treatment outcomes," such as improvements in overall survival (OS) and recurrence suppression. Korean companies also showcased significant progress on the global clinical stage by presenting key pipelines, including targeted anticancer drugs, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and immunotherapies.

According to the industry on October 21, Hanmi Pharmaceutical unveiled the results of its global Phase 1 clinical trial for HM97662, a next-generation targeted anticancer drug that simultaneously inhibits EZH1 and EZH2. The EZH1 and EZH2 proteins, often called "genetic regulatory switches," play a crucial role in controlling the growth and differentiation of cancer cells. In the early-stage patient group, partial response (PR, where disease symptoms are noticeably reduced or disappear) and long-term stable disease (SD) were observed, once again demonstrating the potential of "epigenetic targeted" therapies aimed at patients with resistance or recurrence. Epigenetic targeting refers to focusing on the "switches" (expression regulatory mechanisms) that turn genes on and off, rather than mutations in the DNA itself. As global big pharma companies have recently been investing heavily in this area, expectations for technology transfer are once again rising.

At ESMO, research related to ADCs accounted for the largest share of all topics, with 418 presentations (21%). In the ADC field, LegoChem Biosciences stood out. In the interim results of a Phase 1 trial for HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-ADC "LCB14" (global code IKS014), presented by its partner Iksuda, antitumor activity was observed. Notably, in the breast cancer patient group that received doses of 90 mg/m² or higher, the objective response rate (ORR) reached 64%. The objective response rate refers to the proportion of patients whose tumors have visibly shrunk. There were also cases of renewed response in patients who had previously been treated with the existing ADC anticancer drug "Enhertu," demonstrating the potential for next-generation ADCs. LegoChem also highlighted its pipeline expansion by unveiling Phase 2 results in China for gastric cancer patients and introducing a new ADC candidate based on nectin (a cell adhesion protein involved in conditions such as asthma).

STCube and GI Innovation each played a key role in the field of immuno-oncology. STCube proposed a "BTN1A1" targeted therapy strategy, which acts at a different point than existing immunotherapies, while GI Innovation released early data on combination therapy with Keytruda and introduced a mechanism that improves the tumor microenvironment (TME). Kolon Life Science also demonstrated its platform capabilities by presenting results from a next-generation gene therapy that reduced tumor volume with a single administration.

The message from global companies was "extension of survival." Eli Lilly's breast cancer drug "Verzenio" demonstrated a 15.8% reduction in risk of death in seven-year long-term OS data, and Novartis expanded the treatment benefits of Kisqali to a broader group of early-stage breast cancer patients. As clinical benchmarks shift from PFS to OS, Korean companies are also being called upon to further advance their clinical strategies. Progression-free survival (PFS) refers to the period a patient survives without cancer progression, while overall survival (OS) is the total time from the start of treatment until death.

An official from the pharmaceutical and biotech industry commented, "This year's ESMO served as a stage confirming that Korean companies have entered the competitive landscape based on technological capabilities. As the competition now extends beyond the efficacy of a single drug to designing 'which patients and at what stage' a drug should be used, Korean companies will need to prepare more concrete commercialization strategies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.