Harnessing the body’s own immune system has revolutionized the treatment of several refractory cancers, from melanoma and lymphoma to certain lung and liver cancers. In 2018, Drs. James Allison, US, and Tasuku Honjo, Japan, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that led to the development of cancer therapy by a process termed inhibition of negative immune regulation, which enables a patient’s own immune system to block encroachment by certain malignancies. To date, immunotherapies have been shown effective in many cases of melanoma and about two dozen other cancer types. The armamentarium of immune therapies has also grown to include novel therapeutic mechanisms that may have antiviral applications. Expert panelists will range beyond the current treatment horizon to cover the next act in immunotherapy, including mRNA vaccines, cell-based approaches such as TIL cell and CAR-T therapy, and what these developments mean for patients, investors, the life-sciences industry, and the outlook for cancer treatments. 

Moderator

Marc Hurlbert

CEO, Melanoma Research Alliance

Speakers

Gina Carithers

President, Prostate Cancer Foundation

Friedrich Graf Finckenstein

Chief Medical Officer, Iovance Biotherapeutics

Anusha Kalbasi

Associate Professor, Robert L. and Mary Ellenburg Endowed Faculty Scholar, Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Connie Pfeiffer

Vice President of Medical Affairs, Immunocore

Sunil Verma

Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs, AstraZeneca