Companies such as Novartis, Roche or Takeda are heavily invested in the advanced therapeutics field, usually spreading their bets across multiple modalities. The remaining challenges offer opportunities for the next wave of innovation to transform the field once again and make a dent in the larger market of common diseases and solid tumors.

Vir’s George Scangos, Westlake Village BioPartners’ Sean Harper, Kronos Bio’s Norbert Bischofberger, Scorpion’s Axel Hoos and Eikon’s Roy Baynes discuss the experiences they bring and the challenges they have faced in the transition from large drug makers to small biotechs. 

Kite beats BMS’s Breyanzi to the first CAR-T approval in second-line large B-cell lymphoma. The added indication could nearly double the number of potential US patients for Yescarta.

Cost, logistics and safety could limit use of CAR-T therapies in first- and second-line treatment of hematologic malignancies, but for some patients there are clear benefits over standards of care.