Over the last decade, the number of innovative treatment modalities in oncology that have entered clinical trials has risen dramatically. 

From mRNA-vaccines and antibody drug conjugates to radionuclide and CAR-NK therapies, the increasing sophistication of emerging modalities has been accompanied by increasingly complex clinical development of oncology therapies.

In Spring of 2024, ICON conducted a survey of 104 professionals engaged in oncology drug development in North America and Europe, representing organisations ranging from small to large biotech and pharmaceutical companies. These professionals provided insight on the current state of and future predictions for emergent oncology treatment development, including the associated clinical trial dynamics and challenges and how they varied between small biotech and large pharmaceutical organisations.

• How small and large organisations are adapting their therapeutic portfolios to an increasingly competitive and crowded therapeutic landscape
• Common challenges and limitations faced during clinical development, including difficulty selecting experienced sites, strategically implementing precision biomarkers, and with balancing potency and toxicity during dose selection
• How oncology drug developers are employing AI in their work and where they currently find the most benefit
• Regional differences in drug development pipelines and clinical study challenges
• Differences in clinical and non-clinical outlooks for the future of cancer staging and oncology patient outcomes