EHA 2024 preview – Novartis doubles up

Having scored an ASCO late-breaker with Scebmlix’s first-line CML study ASC4First, Novartis has repeated the trick at the European Hematology Association conference. EHA, which starts 10 days after ASCO, has accepted the ASC4First data for its plenary session.

The EHA plenary also includes the phase 3 Imroz trial of Sanofi’s Sarclisa, toplined positive in December and notable for possibly allowing the anti-CD38 latecomer a leg up against its better-endowed rival Darzalex. Meanwhile, standard presentations will feature several degrader approaches and an update on Arcellx/Gilead’s anito-cel.

The anito-cel data are keenly awaited since they were last updated at ASH, and there had been some sellside expectations that they might come at ASCO. The EHA abstract is a placeholder, with an October data cutoff; it was made available along with other standard EHA abstracts, while the four plenary abstracts remain under embargo until the start of that session on 15 June.

For Novartis it’s fortunate that EHA presentation rules aren’t as strict as ASCO’s. It’s likely that, were the ASC4First results to be unveiled before ASCO, the US organisation wouldn’t permit them to be presented. This stance has already resulted in ASCO throwing out its abstract on Medicenna’s MDNA11 after those data were presented at AACR.

The other relevant EHA plenary, on Sanofi’s Imroz trial, is notable because its setting is first-line multiple myeloma patients ineligible for transplant; here readout of the corresponding Cepheus study of Genmab/Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex has been delayed, most recently from 2023 to 2025. Still, Sarclisa is unlikely ever to come close to Darzalex in terms of sales.

Market punishes Shattuck

While the abstracts have only just been made available one company has already suffered the market’s displeasure: Shattuck Labs' stock fell 18% on fears of cardiac toxicity with SL-172154, and all eyes will now be on a more mature cut of the data to be presented at EHA.

The BTK degraders NX-5948, from Nurix, and BGB-16673 (BeiGene) will square off again, having done battle with early data at ASH. Another degrader to be presented at EHA is Kymera’s Stat3-targeting KT-333, which the EHA abstract reveals to have yielded complete responses in two classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients, and three PRs in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Kymera is best known for its collaboration with Sanofi over IRAK4 degraders outside oncology. At EHA Curis’s IRAK4 inhibitor emavusertib will feature in a poster covering a relapsed/refractory AML study; like Novartis Curis has successfully double-dipped: the emavusertib results will first be presented at ASCO.

Selected European Hematology Association presentations

Source: EHA portal.

The 2024 EHA Congress will take place on 13-16 June in Madrid, Spain.