Datopotamab Deruxtecan

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said using AI is \"delivering real, measurable impact today, right across our value chain.\"\n From shrinking drug development timelines to scouting potential acquisitions, the recent run of first-quarter earnings results marked a shift for Big Pharma from AI hype to explaining how the technology is being applied in practice.AstraZeneca dedicated a slide in its April 29 earnings presentation to showcasing what it has already achieved—as well as clarifying some bold ambitions. The U.K.-based drugmaker has developed its own open-source generative AI framework, dubbed Reinvent, which has halved the time needed to identify molecular structures that could become potential new medicines.The Reinvent program is “fundamentally changing the speed at which we can move from concept to lead molecules,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told journalists on an earnings call.Meanwhile, the company has continued to use its algorithm platform—known as quantitative continuous scoring, or QCS—to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment. QCS is designed to evaluate digitized images of patient tissue samples to quantify targets on the surface of tumor cells as well as inside the cells themselves.Specifically, QCS is being used to assess non-small cell lung cancer patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment in a phase 3 study of the TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugate Datroway.When it comes to manufacturing, AstraZeneca hopes its AI Development Agent will ultimately halve chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) development time. The agentic system could shake up synthetic drug development by harnessing simulations, data and in-house expertise.“AI is transforming our ways of working and is already embedded end-to-end across AstraZeneca, from discovery and development to commercial operations through to healthcare delivery,” Soriot said.“This is not a future ambition,” the CEO added. “AI is delivering real, measurable impact today, right across our value chain.”The technology will remain central to AstraZeneca’s push toward its goal of reaching $80 billion in revenue by 2030.Over at fellow U.K.-based pharma GSK, CEO Luke Miels told journalists that the “number one priority for the usage of AI is the innovation dimension.”“We’re using it to look at process, cost control and elements like that—but that is typically an off-the-shelf solution,” Miels said on an April 29 earnings call with journalists.“The proprietary effort, and where we\'re putting our best AI people, is on the R&D component, particularly at the earliest stage—the translational part,” he added.While the company is exploring the use of AI in designing medicines, Miels pointed out that the technology is also being aligned with GSK’s recent M&A strategy of picking up potential rivals to established blockbusters.“The key thing is looking more broadly at where could that medicine be developed? Where could it be used that maybe the broader world may not have spotted?” he said. “That becomes very important, not only with our own internal programs, but even more important with business development, because that\'s a way that we could identify value that may not be fully reflected in that company or that product,” Miels added. ‘Broadening the use of AI tools’ Over at Bristol Myers Squibb, CEO Chris Boerner, Ph.D., listed “broadening the use of AI tools” alongside greater use of automation in the lab as ways the U.S. pharma is investing in its core R&D infrastructure.The company has set a target of using AI to halve the time taken to select targets and design molecules while “applying greater rigor so that only the most differentiated molecules advance in late development,” Boerner said on an April 30 earnings call with analysts.When it comes to the later stages of drug development, BMS is already using AI to streamline clinical operations, shorten development timelines and improve quality oversight over time, the CEO said.“We expect these efforts to deliver a 30% reduction in cycle times versus just a few years ago,” Boerner added, pointing to a March deal with Faro to scale AI-powered workflows across clinical trial design, drafting, validation and optimization. BMS wasn’t the only Big Pharma on the hunt for AI-powered partnerships in recent months. Novo Nordisk followed in the footsteps of Sanofi and Eli Lilly by striking its own pact with OpenAI in April, with the ambition of integrating AI “globally from drug discovery to commercial operations.”Novo’s announcement came days after OpenAI unveiled a new reasoning model, dubbed GPT-Rosalind, specifically designed to support research in biology, drug discovery and translational medicine. The model is now available as a research preview in ChatGPT, Codex and the API for customers through OpenAI’s trusted access program.Meanwhile, Merck & Co. picked Google Cloud for its own AI partner. As part of an investment valued at up to $1 billion, Merck will get access to the tech giant\'s agentic AI platform across its R&D operations, manufacturing, commercial teams and corporate functions.Speaking to analysts on an April 30 earnings call, Merck CEO Robert Davis framed the Google Cloud deal within the broader context of a partnership with Tempus AI to accelerate the discovery of precision medicine biomarkers, as well as a collaboration to access Mayo Clinic laboratory results, medical imaging, clinical notes and molecular data to support the validation of AI models for drug discovery.“These efforts support improved productivity across our organization and create a real opportunity to advance the innovation in our pipeline with greater speed and with a higher likelihood of ultimately reaching patients,” Davis explained.

LONDON and PHILADELPHIA, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT, "the Company", "Avacta"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing pre|CISION ® , a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, will today present two new developments at its Science Day 2026 event. The Company is presenting comparative analyses of pre|CISION ® payload delivery via one of its programs, AVA6103, compared with now two approved Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs).It is also presenting updated in vivo studies of the dual payload delivery system in another program, AVA6207. Christina Coughlin, CEO of Avacta, commented: "These presentations further underline the potential of our unique pre|CISION ® technology to improve treatment options for cancer patients. "Providing data analysis of two ADCs, including Enhertu ® , as part of the AVA6103 program, further demonstrates the alignment of the ADC mechanism and highlights the critical advantages of our pre|CISION ® delivery directly to the tumor with higher selectivity, regardless of the ADC target. "The data with our pre|CISION technology to deliver dual payloads has now demonstrated for the first time an efficacy advantage over single payload ADCs in a FAP-low and HER2-positive patient-derived cancer model. "We continue to build momentum and enhance our IP - at a pace that we are confident exceeds industry norms." AVA6103: The new data analyses in the AVA6103 program comparing pre|CISION ® FAP-cleavable exatecan delivery with those of leading marketed ADCs have been extended to Datroway ® , an ADC targeting the TROP2 antigen, as well as Enhertu ® an ADC targeting the HER2 antigen. Details of these studies: All three of these drugs (AVA6103, Enhertu ® and Datroway ® ) feature tumor-targeted delivery of topoisomase I inhibitors (exatecan or deruxtecan) and these comparisons are designed to address the differences in the payload delivery and control for the differences in cancer models The delivery kinetics of exatecan (derived from AVA6103) and deruxtecan (derived from Enhertu ® or Datroway ® ) demonstrate more rapid tumor penetration of released exatecan from AVA6103 (T max of minutes, AVA6103 versus T max > 24 hours, Enhertu ® or Datroway ® ) and higher maximal concentration (C max ) of released payload in the tumor with differences observed of over 1-log The tumor selectivity index (TSI) is a measure of the overall exposure (area under the curve, AUC) in the tumor vs. the bloodstream (TSI = AUC[tumor/plasma]) which is at least 3 times higher with released exatecan from AVA6103 than either released deruxtecan from Enhertu ® or Datroway ® The Company is planning to publish these findings at an upcoming academic meeting and in a peer-reviewed journal AVA6207: The in vivo data in the AVA6207 program show the dual payload delivery demonstrating prolonged deep complete responses despite tumor regrowth with the conventional cytotoxic drugs. Initial data was published at AACR 2026 last month and has been updated. Findings include: Results indicate that deep and durable complete responses are observed in the FAP-high model, HEK-FAP where tumors regrow with conventional therapy. In the FAP-low/HER2-positive patient derived xenograft model of gastric cancer, durable responses with AVA6207 are observed where tumor regrowth is observed with Enhertu ® . These results suggest optimal treatment with the combination is more effective in this model than the deruxtecan-based ADC. The investor Science Day 2026 event is being held at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BA, starting at 10.30am. Attendance capacity is limited, so attendance is limited to those who have received confirmation of registration previously. The presentations will be recorded and published on the Company website in due course. Enhertu ® is a registered trademark of Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited and AstraZeneca. Datroway ® is a registered trademark of Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited. For further information from Avacta, please contact: Avacta Group plc Christina Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) James Harris / Chris Raggett / James Dance via Cohesion Bureau Zeus (Broker) James Hornigold / George Duxberry / Dominic King Cohesion Bureau Communications / Media / Investors Richard Jarvis avacta@cohesionbureau.com About Avacta - Avacta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the reach of highly potent cancer therapies through its proprietary pre|CISION® platform. pre|CISION® is a payload delivery system based on a tumor-specific protease (Fibroblast Activation Protein or FAP) that is designed to concentrate highly potent payloads in the tumor microenvironment while sparing normal tissues. Avacta's innovative pre|CISION® peptide drug conjugates (PDC) are a novel entry to the XDC drug class, leveraging the success of antibody drug conjugates with alternative methods of delivery beyond antibodies. Our pre|CISION® PDCs leverage this tumor-specific release mechanism to provide unique benefits over traditional antibody drug conjugates, releasing active payload in the tumor and reducing systemic exposure and toxicity which enables dosing to be optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients. The lead clinical program is faridoxorubicin (AVA6000), a Gen One FAP-enabled pre|CISION® version of doxorubicin that delivers the payload directly in the tumor with limited peripheral blood exposure and has demonstrated preliminary activity in tumor types sensitive to doxorubicin including salivary gland cancer and soft tissue sarcoma. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit .