AACR in 30 seconds: CAR-T's promise, Merck's new moves, and rural health

Angus Cheng covers all issues broadly related to cancer, including medicines, policy, science and stocks. She joined STAT in 2021 after covering health and science at NPR and NPR affiliate stations. His work has been recognized with the national Edward R. Murrow Award and the June L. Biedler Award for Cancer Journalism, among others. You can access Angus.08 on Signal.

Damian Garde covers the global pharmaceutical industry as a general live and feature journalism reporter and contributes to STAT’s industry-leading events.

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More data from the AACR meeting is back. Among today’s highlights: a first look at Merck’s acquisition of a drug from China, a fascinating but potentially controversial use for CAR-T, and the geography of American oncology. Don’t forget. We’ll be hosting a live event in San Diego on Tuesday night. There will also be a virtual recap of the AACR conference on Thursday.

CAR-T shows profound response in smoldering myeloma

In an early-stage trial, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute treated 20 patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma with Carvykti, a BCMA-based CAR-T therapy. The idea was to use immunotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma precursors in hopes of preventing active cancer in patients at high risk of progression.

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