Takeda

The ADC that made the modern field credible (2011), for Hodgkin lymphoma and CD30+ lymphomas.

TAK-928 is an experimental bispecific antibody from Takeda in phase 3 trials for non-small-cell lung cancer, aimed at PD-1 and CD25 (IL-2 receptor alpha).

Elritercept is Keros and Takeda's ligand trap for the anaemia of myelodysplastic syndromes, a relative of luspatercept, in phase 3 trials.

Sapanisertib is an experimental small-molecule drug from Faeth Therapeutics in phase 2 trials for HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and endometrial cancer, aimed at mTOR.

Serabelisib is an experimental small-molecule drug from Faeth Therapeutics in phase 2 trials for HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and endometrial cancer, aimed at PIK3CA / PI3K-alpha.

Intravenous immunoglobulin is pooled antibody from many blood donors. People with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or myeloma whose own antibody levels have collapsed, and who keep getting bacterial infections despite antibiotics, receive it as replacement.

Anagrelide (Agrylin) is a capsule that lowers dangerously high platelet counts in essential thrombocythaemia and other myeloproliferative neoplasms, reducing the risk of clots and bleeding.

Bortezomib was the first proteasome inhibitor: it jams the cell's protein-recycling machine, which antibody-factory plasma cells cannot tolerate.

Brigatinib is an ALK pill with strong brain activity, approved first after crizotinib and then first line after beating it in ALTA-1L.

A Chinese-discovered pill that blocks the blood-vessel receptors, approved in 2023 for bowel cancer after all standard treatments.

Ixazomib (Ninlaro) is the first oral proteasome inhibitor for multiple myeloma, enabling an all-oral triplet with lenalidomide and dexamethasone.

Leuprolide is the injectable that shuts off testosterone production, the foundation of hormone therapy for prostate cancer since the 1980s; it is also used for ovarian suppression in premenopausal breast cancer.

An immune-activating drug approved in Europe for osteosarcoma after a trial suggested it improved survival; the FDA never approved it, and it remains one of oncology's transatlantic disagreements.

Mobocertinib was the first oral drug for EGFR exon 20 insertion lung cancer, approved in 2021 and withdrawn in 2023-24 after its confirmatory trial failed.

A more selective version of abiraterone that was meant to avoid the need for steroids. It delayed the cancer on scans but did not help men live longer, and was abandoned.

Pevonedistat was a first-in-class drug that jammed part of the cell's protein-disposal system. Promising with azacitidine in a mid-stage trial for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, it failed to beat azacitidine alone in the phase 3 PANTHER trial in 2021.

Ponatinib is the only BCR::ABL1 inhibitor that covers the T315I resistance mutation. In 2024 it became the preferred pill for newly diagnosed Ph-positive ALL.

Rusfertide is the first drug to control polycythaemia vera's excess red cells by restricting iron, sparing patients repeated blood removal.

An oral chemotherapy pill for bowel cancer that has stopped responding to everything else; with bevacizumab it extends life by about three months.