Benny Johnson, Senior Medical Director at Agenus, shared his recent article on LinkedIn:
“Now that I’m back home, I reflect that ESMO25 in Berlin was an incredible few days, a convergence of science, purpose, and progress. I was deeply inspired by the collaboration across the oncology community as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible for our patients.
There was exciting momentum for Agenus and the BOT/BAL (Botensilimab + Balstilimab) clinical development program, a combination consistently showing the potential to reshape outcomes across multiple treatment-refractory solid tumors.
Dr. Michael Gordon, M.D., oral presentation of our mature pan-tumor dataset demonstrated durable immune activation, long-term disease control, and most importantly meaningful survival benefit for patients with historically difficult to treat solid tumors- especially MSS colorectal cancer, a setting long considered resistant to immunotherapy, until now.
Building on these results, and supported by consistent phase 2 data, I’m pleased to share that at ESMO25, CCTG investigators led by my colleague and friend Dr. Jonathan Loree gathered for the launch of the highly anticipated phase 3 BATTMAN trial, reflecting the collective drive and enthusiasm to quickly advance BOT/BAL for patients with advanced chemo-refractory MSS CRC.
Equally energizing were discussions around maturing BOT/BAL neoadjuvant and planned MRD-directed studies in colon and rectal cancers, highlighting BOT/BAL’s potential to move from late-line therapy to earlier, curative settings.
Together, these efforts exemplify what’s possible when pivotal data-informed clinical trial design, innovation, and collaboration unite, bringing us closer to a future where more of our patients experience durable, life-changing benefits from effective immunotherapy.”
More posts featuring Benny Johnson on OncoDaily.
