As professionals from across the oncology landscape gather at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) congress in Chicago, many are looking to key readouts in lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer cases and deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

With several targeted therapies in the pipeline for subtypes under the wider lung cancer umbrella, there has already been a huge influx of fascinating readouts from the event. Pharmaceutical Technology gives you the highlights, with readouts from key players like Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and more.

BMS and BioNTech’s bispecific touts high response rate

In a highly anticipated readout, BMS and partner, BioNTech, presented interim Phase II data for PDL-1/VEGF bispecific, pumitamig from the global Phase II/III ROSETTA Lung-02 study (NCT06712316), which is looking at the drug’s potential alongside chemotherapy in frontline, untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Amongst the 40 response-evaluable patients enrolled onto this portion of the study, who had either squamous or non-squamous disease, the overall response rate (ORR) was 70%, with two and 26 patients experiencing a complete and partial response to treatment, respectively. The highest ORR rate was in the squamous population, with nine out of 11 (81.8%) patients achieving this feat on a 1400mg dose.

While adverse events (AEs) ranked Grade 3 or higher were reported in 44.2% of patients, only eight cases (18.6%) were deemed related to pumitamig, which Jefferies analysts note is “numerically lower than the ~23% treatment related AE related d/c's observed in Keytruda (pembrolizumab) combinations”.

In a research note, the analysts added that pumitamig’s early, first-line NSCLC dataset looks “just as good” as MSD (Merck & Co) and Kelun Biotech’s late-stage PD-1/VEGF candidate, ivonescimab, which came under the spotlight after being selected as an abstract for a plenary session at ASCO 2026. “We currently don’t see a clear differentiation on efficacy or safety across the different PD-(L)1xVEGF agents & continue to believe that long-term differentiation will hinge on combinations w/ novel ADCs that can expand the therapeutic window,” they said.

This comes as Pfizer’s rival PD-L1/VEGF, PF-08634404, triggered a 64-75% confirmed ORR (cORR) in the squamous and non-squamous settings, regardless of PD-L1 status, during a Chinese study in frontline NSCLC.

Kelun wows with lung cancer data package

While all eyes were on the pivotal readout for Kelun and MSD’s ivonescimab, Kelun also announced it would file for the Chinese approval of its selective RET inhibitor, lunbotinib fumarate, based on the results of a pivotal study in RET-positive NSCLC.

During the Phase II trial, which enrolled 163 treatment-naïve or pre-treated patients, lunbotinib fumarate triggered a confirmed ORR of 81.3% and 87.1% in treatment-naïve and pre-treated patients, respectively. While the treatment-naïve patient group is yet to reach a median progression-free survival (PFS), the rate amongst pre-treated patients was 27.5 months.

Alongside lunbotinib fumarate’s potential to stall progression across the general study population, the RET inhibitor also demonstrated its promise in managing central nervous system (CNS) metastases, with the intracranial response rate (ICR) reaching 30% amongst the 40 patients with brain metastases.

Patients also tolerated lunbotinib fumarate fairly well, with most TEAEs being Grades 1 or 2, and only 1.2% of patients discontinuing treatment with the drug due to a TEAE.

Kelun will now file for lunbotinib fumarate’s approval in RET-positive NSCLC with China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), while British biotech, Ellipses Pharma, will continue to explore the drug’s potential in a global Phase II trial (NCT05443126).

If approved on a global scale, it would join tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like Eli Lilly’s Retevmo (selpercatinib) and Roche & Blueprint Medicines’ Gavreto (pralsetinib) on the RET-positive NSCLC market.

J&J eyes Rybrevant-Lazcluze potential in atypical EGFR mutation subset

Alongside the readouts for promising investigational assets, J&J presented data on its Rybrevant (amivantamab) and Lazcluze (lazertinib) combination in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, as the company looks to solidify the drug’s role in this population subset.

At ASCO 2026, the company posted some positive updated results from the open-label Phase I/Ib CHRYSALIS-2 study (NCT04077463), which is evaluating the duo’s potential in patients with atypical EGFR mutations.

While J&J previously shared data on ORR, the trial’s primary endpoint, the big pharma company presented new overall survival (OS) data from the study, revealing that the median OS was nearly three and a half years. At the three-year mark, the median OS rates were 55%, while 46% of patients were still alive at four years.

Rybrevant-Lazcluze also demonstrated consistent clinical activity across the atypical EGFR mutation subgroups. Meanwhile, patients generally remained on treatment long-term, with 41% receiving treatment with Rybrevant for two years or longer. This was, in part, driven by the drug’s safety and tolerability, with most TEAEs being Grades 1 or 2.

These results are particularly meaningful for the 10-20% of patients with atypical EGFR mutations, as they tend to experience poorer outcomes compared with individuals harbouring common mutations.

According to Joel Neal, CHRYSALIS-2 principal investigator and professor of medicine at Stanford, results from this trial “suggest the potential for more durable disease control”, with long-term outcomes of the study potentially altering how healthcare professionals think about managing this subtype of lung cancer.

US, European and UK regulators have approved Rybrevant-Lazcluze for advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitution mutations.

Pfizer's Lorbrena demonstrates longest PFS to data in NSCLC

Like J&J, Pfizer was keen to showcase the potential of its portfolio medicines, including its ALK inhibitor, Lorbrena (lorlatinib). At ASCO 2026, Pfizer presented seven-year data from the Phase III CROWN trial (NCT03052608), which is pitting Lorbrena against its predecessor, Xalkori (crizotinib) in previously untreated, ALK-positive advanced or metastatic NSCLC.

At the seven-year mark, patients had a 55% likelihood of remaining alive without disease progression versus 3% in the Xalkori treatment arm, while the investigator-assessed median PFS had not yet been reached at this time point for those treated with Lorbrena.

Researchers also found that the drug can prevent and control brain metastases, triggering a 94% reduction in a patient’s risk of developing intracranial progression.

However, Jefferies analysts note that the drug’s CNS toxicity was a “key drawback”, with 34% of patients requiring dose reductions and 5% discontinuing treatment due to this factor.

In a statement, Tony Shu-Kam Mok, CROWN principal investigator and chair of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s clinical oncology department, said: “Observing this level of long-term benefit with a once-daily oral therapy, both in terms of sustained PFS and prevention of brain metastases … underscores the significance of these results for the lung cancer community.”