{
  "id": 14782397,
  "title": "Crescent Biopharma advances cancer drug trials across portfolio",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/crescent-biopharma-advances-cancer-drug-trials-across-portfolio",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-15T20:20:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/crescent-biopharma-advances-cancer-drug-trials-across-portfolio-93CH-4952612"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "WALTHAM, Mass. - Crescent Biopharma Inc., a company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CBIO, has achieved significant milestones in advancing its cancer drug trials, as announced in a recent press release. The company has completed dose escalation in its ASCEND trial, which is evaluating its lead candidate CR-001, a novel PD-1 x VEGF bispecific antibody. To date, more than 125 patients have been dosed across ASCEND in clinical sites spanning the United States, Europe, and South Korea.\n\nLooking ahead, Crescent Biopharma plans to unveil initial data from the monotherapy arm of ASCEND in the first quarter of 2027. This data will include early indications of the drug's antitumor efficacy in a first-line non-small cell lung cancer cohort, comprising up to 12 patients. The company’s expansion efforts are well underway, with enrollment now in progress for combination therapy cohorts investigating the use of CR-001 alongside established chemotherapy protocols in a range of cancer types. These include first-line non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal, biliary tract, gastric, and endometrial cancers. Crescent anticipates presenting initial results from hundreds of patients in these combination cohorts by mid-2027.\n\nFurther down the line, Crescent Biopharma has ambitious plans to commence the initial phase of multiple Phase 3 trials for CR-001 in early 2028. This sequence of trials is contingent upon the outcome of current studies and regulatory dialogues. Under an exclusive licensing agreement, Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co. is granted the rights to develop and market CR-001 within the Greater China region. Kelun-Biotech is concurrently conducting several Phase 2 trials in China, evaluating CR-001 in combination with sacituzumab rivimoterac, a TROP2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate. Preliminary findings from these trials are projected for release in mid-2027.\n\nIn a separate development, Crescent Biopharma has secured Investigational New Drug clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for CR-002, another bispecific antibody targeting PD-L1. The company intends to launch a global Phase 1/2 APOLLO trial this quarter, with the expectation of initial data emerging in the second half of 2027. Additionally, Crescent is actively running a Phase 1/2 trial of CR-003, an ITGB6-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, within China. Early proof-of-concept data from this trial is anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. With this multifaceted approach, Crescent Biopharma aims to dose over 2,000 patients across its pipeline by mid-2027.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}