ESMO 2026 Day 1: 10 Highlights, Stock Moves and What’s Next
ESMO had not even started when the first bombshell landed. Yesterday’s leak of Moderna/Merck’s Phase 3 melanoma vaccine data sent Moderna sharply lower, despite the trial meeting its endpoints.
Today, ADCs stood out: Takeda/Innovent delivered an overall-survival benefit in gastric cancer, BMS/Biokin more than doubled median progression-free survival in breast cancer, and IDEAYA added preliminary survival data for its DLL3 programme. But clinical progress did not consistently lift stocks. High expectations, immature datasets and broader biotech weakness shaped the backdrop.
Takeda ($TAK), −0.6%:
Phase 3 arcotatug tavatecan improved median overall survival to 10.2 versus 6.9 months in gastric cancer. Next: Japanese filing and global Phase 3 expansion; dates unannounced.
Bristol Myers Squibb ($BMY), −2.2%: Phase 3 iza-bren delivered median PFS of 8.2 versus 4.0 months in HR+/HER2-negative breast cancer. Separate CAR-T safety news complicates the stock interpretation. Next: Head-and-neck data October 25; PANKU-Lung01 October 26.
IDEAYA ($IDYA), −3.8%: The Phase 1 DLL3 ADC IDE849 showed 17.4-month median survival and 60.8% confirmed responses in second-line SCLC, n=51. No randomized comparator yet. Next: ES-SCLC Phase 3 initiation targeted by year-end 2026.
Tango ($TNGX), −16.0%: Vopimetostat plus daraxonrasib achieved 82% responses in 22 pancreatic-cancer patients, versus 92% in June’s smaller cohort. That comparison provides context for high expectations. Next: Frontline Phase 3 initiation in H1 2027.
Eikon ($EIKN), −12.4%: EIK1003 plus paclitaxel showed 26.4% responses, including unconfirmed responses, with 80.3% grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events. Activity and tolerability remain central questions. Next: Separate EIK1001 Phase 2 lung-cancer data October 26.
ORIC ($ORIC), −4.0%: Enozertinib showed 80% confirmed systemic responses and 67% intracranial responses by independent assessments in small Phase 1b cohorts. Durability remains immature. Next: October 26 poster; Redwood-1 Phase 3 initiation in H1 2027.
Elicio ($ELTX), −0.8%: ELI-002 7P showed DFS HRs of 0.51 and 0.57 in ctDNA-defined subgroups after its previously disclosed primary endpoint miss. Next: Q4 2026 metastatic pancreatic-cancer combination trial initiation and Phase 3 design discussions.
Iovance ($IOVA), −1.1%: Lifileucel plus pembrolizumab delivered 62.5% confirmed responses in 24 frontline melanoma patients; median survival remained unreached after approximately four years of study follow-up. Next: Sarcoma data October 26 and ongoing TILVANCE-301 development.
Evaxion ($EVAX), +0.8%: 89% of EVX-01 vaccine targets triggered specific T-cell responses at three years. This measures immune activity, not tumour response; the vaccine-only extension included six patients. Next: October 24 poster and October 29 webinar.
Moderna ($MRNA), −2.4% today: INTerpath-001 reduced recurrence or death by 42% and distant metastasis or death by 38%. Yesterday’s sell-off keeps expectations in focus. Next: October 24 Presidential Symposium and regulatory-path updates.
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Article history:
First published 10/23/26 MD, AV
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