The Zhitong Finance App learned that Guojin Securities released a research report saying that at this ESMO conference, Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies performed brilliantly. With the intensive release of data on many innovative Chinese drugs, and clinical data in the fields of PD-1 PLUS dual antibodies, ADC, and targeted therapy reaching the leading international level, it has attracted a high level of attention and may be expected to boost a new round of opportunities for innovative drugs to go overseas. The bank continues to focus on next-generation therapies with pan-cancer potential, addressing chronic disease drugs that do not meet clinical needs, as well as investment opportunities in ADCs, double/multiple antibodies, and small nucleic acids.
Guojin Securities's main views are as follows:
ESMO conference comes to an end, China's innovative drugs have achieved remarkable results
The 2026 ESMO Annual Conference, organized by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), was held in Madrid, Spain from October 23 to 27. The purpose of the conference was to showcase the latest clinical research results in the field of global oncology and promote international academic exchanges and cooperation in oncology. It is one of the largest and most influential oncology academic conferences in the field. At the ESMO conference, Chinese innovative drug companies performed brilliantly: 28 Chinese studies were selected for the latest breakthrough summary (LBA) of the conference, a record high; among them, the China Phase III SAFFRON study with huangmedicine/AstraZeneca sevotinib combined with ositinib in the treatment of EGFR mutations and MET overexpression/amplification of advanced non-small cell lung cancer; and the Chinese Phase III Harmoni-GI1 study on first-line treatment of advanced biliary cancer with Clembosimab P2 ADC lukansastuzumab The global Phase III Trofuse-005 study on fighting advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer was selected for the highest standard Presidential Symposium (Presidential Symposium) report. As Chinese companies and Chinese scholars continue to make breakthroughs in research in the field of new oncology drugs, their international influence continues to grow.
China's ADC has fully entered the global phase III harvest period
ADC and dual-antagonist/multi-antibody assets together account for more than half of the Chinese LBA, which is the core main line of this conference. At the TROP2 ADC track, Colombotai Lucan Satuzumab (SKB264) obtained 3 LBAs, covering NSCLC, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.; the HER2 ADC race, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals SHR-A1811 (Horizon-Breast06) and Chinese Biopharmaceutical TQB2102 (APEX-Breast01) read phase III positive data in HER2 low-expression breast cancer; Hengrui Pharmaceutical's HER3 ADC and Baili Tianheng's EGFR×HER3 all passed stage III Clinical results cut into the back line of three generations of EGFR-TKI resistance. Furthermore, CLDN18.2 ADC and B7-H3 ADC became an emerging hot topic at this ESMO conference. Conoah Soneve was the world's first CLDN18.2 ADCOS positive phase III study; Hanson Pharmaceuticals Ris-Rez, Yilian Biotech Tam-Pel, and Yingen Biotech ELFE-D promoted the latest progress of B7-H3 ADC in multiple tumor types.
With the advent of IO 2.0, dual antibody/multiple antibodies and next-generation co-administration strategies take over PD-1 monoclonal antibodies
A number of IO 2.0 assets focused on disclosing clinical data at this conference, showing the potential for iteration against PD- (L) 1 monoclonal antibodies. Kangfang Biotech (PD-1/VEGF double antibody) combined chemotherapy contrast valiumab combined chemotherapy first-line registration phase III study (Harmoni-GI1) for advanced biliary cancer (BTC) obtained positive OS results. It was the first phase III study to obtain an overall positive result under this control; as the first phase III positive study for gastrointestinal tumors, its clinical value is expanding from lung cancer to a wider range of solid tumors. Furthermore, in addition to the popular PD-1/VEGF double antibody, IO2.0 at this ESMO conference ushered in diversification of mechanisms and indications, including NSCLC data from Cornerstone Pharmaceutical CS2009 (PD1/VEGF/CTLA-4 triple antibody), extrapulmonary neuroendocrine cancer data, and hepatocellular carcinoma data from BGB-B2033 (GPC3×4-1BB) in Baiji Shenzhou.
Precision treatment continues to be upgraded, and multiple types of refractory/drug-resistant mutations ushered in breakthroughs
In response to the EGFR-TKI drug resistance problem, various emerging protocols at this conference showed excellent data: MET small molecule targeted drug combination therapy (and Huangmei SAFFRON study) and ADC therapy all ushered in major data readings; traditional non-drug targets represented by RAS continued to usher in break-through signals, and Jingfang Pharmaceutical's GFH276 (Pan-RAS molecular glue) showed cross-tumor activity in treating advanced RAS mutant solid tumors. Hengrui HRS-4642 (KRASG12D) progressed to the perioperative stage of pancreatic cancer. As data on next-generation targeted drugs shines brightly, breakthroughs in targeted drugs in the fields of RAS and EGFR are expected to reshape the treatment pattern for various intractable mutant diseases.
Risk Alerts
Risk of failure in new drug development; risk of development progress falling short of expectations; risk of drug price reduction.