Reflections from IO360 – Insights and Innovation in Immuno-Oncology
The 11th annual Immuno-Oncology 360° Summit took place in Boston this year, a first after being held in the New York City for the past eight years. A fitting move, as Boston continues to strengthen its position as a leading biotech hub. With a packed three day agenda, IO360 brought together experts from across the immuno-oncology space, with experts working in pre-clinical to clinical research, regulatory affairs, business development and finance.
The event highlighted the next wave of innovation in IO, from new emerging cancer immunotherapy data, as well as new tools that help accelerate therapeutic development. While IO remained the central focus, pipeline diversification was also discussed, reflecting how learnings from cancer immunotherapy development can be applied to autoimmunity therapeutics.
Highlights from the event:
Crystal Mackall winning the Lifetime Achievement award, and delivering the keynote talk ‘Evolution and Future Directions in Cell Therapy – Overcoming Challenges and Pioneering Innovations’.
William Ho – Cell therapy for Autoimmunity/Be Biopharma. While the main focus of the conference was IO, Dr Ho gave a good overview of how IO companies are diversifying their pipelines to I&I.
Craig C. Suvannavejh, PhD – The Biotech Markets and IO Outlook. Amidst all the science, this specific talk gave good insight into the current state of the biotech market, as well as future considerations.
Key takeaways:
- Many experts voiced concern for the industry, citing widespread layoffs at CDC, NIH and FDA, and raising questions about how the reduced capacity at these agencies impact new drugs getting approved and to the patients.
- At the same time, many noted a rise in investment for companies developing immuno-oncology, expressing optimism for the future. The unmet medical need remains high – not only in cancer, but also across autoimmune and other complex disease. Significant advances are being made, from discovery of novel targets and MoAs, to innovative therapeutics, and technologies that accelerate drug development timelines – all of which contribute to more investor interest and momentum in the field.
- With IO being the topic, one area where all agreed was that combination strategies are the future. With efficacy of monotherapies being a concern, the combinational approach will hopefully be key.
IO360 was a productive, insightful and energising experience. It provided us the perfect opportunity to see where the field is heading and see the transition between early stage research and clinical execution.
A huge thank you to The Conference Forum and IO360 for organising an insightful and well-run event. We look forward to attending again next year.
