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The 24-Year King of Cancer Treatment Just Got Its First Real Challenger
No drug has displaced Gleevec as the standard treatment for GIST (a rare gastrointestinal cancer) since its approval for unresectable and/or metastatic disease in 2002. GSK just showed up at ASCO 2026 with early data on velzatinib that might break that streak: a 61% tumor response rate in first-line patients, activity across all clinically relevant KIT mutations, and a clean safety profile. The company is launching two phase 3 trials, including one that pits velzatinib directly against Gleevec. Oncologists are already using the phrase "paradigm shift," though phase 1 data in small patient groups is a long way from dethroning a 24-year champion.
Why it matters: If velzatinib can beat Gleevec in a head-to-head phase 3 trial, it would mark the first frontline shakeup in GIST in nearly a quarter century and validate GSK's up to $1.15 billion acquisition of IDRx as one of the smartest early-stage bets in recent oncology history.
Read more →Deals and M&A
UCB Killed a Biotech's IPO With a $2 Billion Phone Call
Candid Therapeutics was weeks away from going public through a reverse merger. Then UCB showed up with $2 billion in cash for the company's T-cell engager platform, which engineers antibodies to redirect the immune system against disease-causing cells. Candid terminated its IPO plans on the spot. The deal hands UCB two clinical-stage autoimmune programs and signals that European pharma's appetite for American biotech platforms is only growing.
Read more →Servier Bets $2.65 Billion That a Simple Pill Can Treat Muscular Dystrophy
There is no approved drug for Becker muscular dystrophy in the US. Servier just paid $1.55 billion upfront (with up to $1.1 billion in milestones, totaling $2.65 billion) for sevasemten, an oral tablet that reduces muscle damage by dialing down contraction force. In a two-year study, patients held steady on walking tests where they'd normally decline. Pivotal trial results are expected later this year.
Read more →Clinical and Regulatory
Fulcrum's Sickle Cell Drug Showed Promise, Then Hit a Wall
Fulcrum Therapeutics' oral sickle cell drug pociredir showed a mean absolute fetal hemoglobin increase of 12.2 percentage points (from 7.1% to 19.3%), blowing past the therapeutic benchmark. But the program hit a regulatory setback when the FDA placed a clinical hold on the drug, and the stock cratered as investors reassessed Fulcrum's prospects.
Read more →Novartis Built a $2 Billion Radioligand Monopoly. Telix Just Showed Up.
Telix Pharmaceuticals presented early Phase 3 safety data for TLX591-Tx, an antibody-based radioligand therapy targeting the same prostate cancer market where Novartis's Pluvicto pulled in $2 billion last year. The drug looked safe in 36 patients, clearing the way for a 490-patient pivotal study. No efficacy data yet, but the late-breaking ASCO slot signals the field is paying attention.
Read more →Market Movers
Best-in-Class Ulcerative Colitis Data, But Cancer Signal Clouds the Picture
Abivax reported 51% remission rates for obefazimod in ulcerative colitis, roughly 40 points above placebo and among the best numbers ever seen in a large UC trial. Then investors noticed seven malignancy events in the 50 mg group (three non-skin cancers, all in the high-dose group), raising safety concerns. Jefferies downgraded to Hold, calling the overhang "real."
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