ESMO shows cancer has a target on its back

For more than a decade, the main area of interest and focus in oncology has been the astonishing progress of immuno-oncology therapies, led lately by the  all-conquering Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

Over the years, this progress has been reflected at Europe’s leading cancer conference, the annual meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), where this year Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) option continued to make  important gains, including in breast cancer.

Roche (ROG: SIX) has also been working to challenge the dominance of Merck’s I-O powerhouse,  including in lung cancer and extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).