Peptide-mechanism oncology has grown from a niche modality to a clinical-stage cohort with the largest single-meeting presence at ASCO 2026 in recent history. The current pipeline spans four therapeutic strategies: peptide-drug conjugates that carry cytotoxic payloads via peptide-mediated tumor targeting, peptide cancer vaccines that prime T-cell responses against tumor antigens, peptide-based transcription-factor antagonists, and somatostatin-receptor-targeted radiopeptide and non-radioactive drug conjugates.
The ASCO 2026 (May 29-June 2 Chicago) peptide-oncology slate clustered into a single meeting: Bicycle Therapeutics' Duravelo-2 Phase 2 zelenectide pevedotin + pembrolizumab (65% ORR / 58% BICR-confirmed at 27-week cutoff in 1L urothelial); Avacta's AVA6000 Phase 1a/1b FAP-Dox in salivary gland cancers (90% disease control rate); Sapience Therapeutics' lucicebtide (C/EBPβ antagonist peptide) Phase 2 in newly diagnosed glioblastoma; BriaCell's Bria-IMT cell-and-peptide immunotherapy with 16.6-month Phase 2 median OS in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer; BioVaxys's MVP-S survivin peptide vaccine PESCO trial in recurrent ovarian cancer; Crinetics' CRN09682 SSTR2 non-radioactive drug conjugate BRAVESST2 trial.
Stories here cover trial readouts, regulatory milestones, AACR and ASCO presentations, and the broader peptide-conjugate platform race. See #peptide-drug-conjugate, #peptide-vaccine, and #asco-2026 for adjacent threads.
The ASCO Annual Meeting closed June 2 after a week that moved peptide and targeted-conjugate oncology from abstract to podium: Bicycle's bicyclic peptide-drug conjugate and Avacta's FAP-activated conjugate in solid tumors, Mayo's folate-receptor and BioVaxys' survivin peptide vaccines, Sapience's C/EBPβ antagonist in glioblastoma, and PSMA and lead-212 radioligands from Telix and Perspective. Attention now shifts to ADA 2026 in New Orleans and the July 23-24 PCAC compounding vote.
ASCO's Sunday education and poster sessions in Chicago set up the meeting's densest peptide-oncology day on Monday, June 1, when Bicycle Therapeutics presents Duravelo-2 (zelenectide pevedotin in first-line urothelial cancer, Abstract 4516), Mayo Clinic presents the TPIV200 folate-receptor-alpha vaccine in triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract 536), and Telix presents ProstACT Global PSMA radioligand data. Corbus CRB-701 and BioVaxys MVP-S round out the targeted-conjugate and vaccine slate.
ASCO 2026 Day 2 in Chicago continued the meeting's peptide-and-targeted-conjugate oncology programming. Saturday May 30 brought the Immutep eftilagimod alfa survival pooled analysis and the ImPact Biotech padeliporfin VTP pancreatic data, alongside the Bicycle Therapeutics zelenectide pevedotin dose-optimization poster (Abstract 4567, May 31) approaching. The meeting's heaviest peptide-mechanism day is Monday June 1: Bicycle Duravelo-2 zelenectide pevedotin + pembrolizumab oral presentation in 1L urothelial (Abstract 4516, 8:30 AM CT); Mayo Clinic TPIV200 folate-receptor peptide vaccine in triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract 536, 1:30 PM CT); Telix ProstACT PSMA radioligand Phase 3 Part 1; Sapience lucicebtide GBM poster. The Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC data (42.9% OPSCC / 34.4% cervical) landed Friday May 29. The targeted-conjugate categories — Nectin-4, PSMA, B7-H3, FAP, SSTR2 — remain the densest peptide-adjacent oncology competition, with the bulk of definitive readouts concentrated in the meeting's back half through June 2.
The ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting opened today at McCormick Place Chicago, running through June 2, with more than 7,000 abstracts. The peptide-and-targeted-conjugate oncology cohort — pre-released in the May 21 abstract drop and the May 26 embargoed press briefing — now moves to live presentation. Friday May 29 brought the Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC cervical/OPSCC data and the Dana-Farber/Bristol multiple myeloma and Pfizer lung cancer readouts. The peptide-mechanism slate across the meeting: Bicycle Therapeutics zelenectide pevedotin Duravelo-2 (bicyclic peptide-MMAE conjugate, oral June 1); Avacta AVA6000 FAP-Dox; BriaCell Bria-IMT cell-and-peptide immunotherapy; Sapience lucicebtide C/EBPβ antagonist (GBM); Aktis AKY-2519 B7-H3 miniprotein radioconjugate; Mayo TPIV200 folate-receptor peptide vaccine (TNBC, June 1); Telix ProstACT PSMA radioligand (June 1); plus the GLP-1 cancer slate (Abstract 3143, Roswell Park breast cancer). The targeted-conjugate categories — Nectin-4, PSMA, B7-H3, FAP, SSTR2 — are the densest peptide-adjacent oncology competition at the meeting.
The ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting opens tomorrow Friday May 29 at McCormick Place Chicago, running through June 2. The peptide-and-targeted-conjugate oncology slate that landed in the May 21 abstract release and the May 26 embargoed press briefing: Bicycle Therapeutics Duravelo-2 Phase 2 (zelenectide pevedotin 65% ORR / 58% BICR-confirmed in 1L urothelial, oral June 1 8:30 AM); Avacta AVA6000 FAP-Dox Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland (90% disease control); BriaCell Bria-IMT 16.6-month median OS in metastatic breast cancer; Sapience lucicebtide 28.4-month projected median PFS in glioblastoma; Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC in HNSCC and cervical (oral May 29); Crinetics CRN09682 SSTR2 non-peptide drug conjugate BRAVESST2; Aktis AKY-2519 B7-H3 miniprotein radioconjugate; Mayo Clinic TPIV200 folate-receptor peptide vaccine in TNBC; plus the GLP-1 cancer slate (Abstract 3143, Roswell Park breast cancer). ASCO 2026 follows immediately after EASL 2026 closes May 30 — the back-to-back meeting structure makes the May 27-June 2 window the highest-density peptide-data week of 2026.
ASCO will hold an embargoed virtual press briefing for credentialed media on Tuesday May 26 to preview Late-Breaking Abstracts being presented during the Annual Meeting that opens Friday May 29 in Chicago. Late-Breaking Abstracts are submitted after the standard abstract deadline and contain data that would not have been available at the regular submission cycle — typically the highest-impact data of the meeting. The briefing covers presentations across the full ASCO program including the peptide-oncology slate that landed in the May 21 abstract release: Bicycle Therapeutics' Duravelo-2 Phase 2 (65% ORR/58% BICR-confirmed), Avacta's AVA6000 Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland cancer (90% disease control rate), Sapience Therapeutics' lucicebtide Phase 2 GBM, BriaCell's Bria-IMT 16.6-month Phase 2 OS, Corbus Pharmaceuticals' CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC, and Crinetics' CRN09682 SSTR2 NDC BRAVESST2. The May 26 embargo lifts late afternoon to feed press coverage into the Wednesday-Thursday cycle.
The Memorial Day week landing pad in the medical-conference calendar is unusually peptide-heavy. Monday May 25 is the US Memorial Day federal holiday. EASL 2026 (European Association for the Study of the Liver) opens Wednesday May 27 in Barcelona running through Saturday May 30, with Novo Nordisk's ESSENCE Phase 3 liver-safety analyses, Eli Lilly's retatrutide MASLD Phase 3 enrollment status, Boehringer survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1 forward-look, and MetaVia vanoglipel + resmetirom MASH preclinical work anchoring the peptide-relevant program. ASCO 2026 (American Society of Clinical Oncology) opens Friday May 29 in Chicago running through Tuesday June 2 with the peptide-oncology slate landing across all five days. Combined, the two meetings concentrate the most peptide-mechanism data of any week in 2026 — MASH plus oncology back-to-back. Practitioner press will be split across the two meetings.
ASCO 2026 in Chicago opens Friday May 29 with the peptide-oncology calendar now fully fixed. Thursday May 29 4:57 PM CDT: Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC oral session in cervical cancer. Friday May 30 4:30 PM CDT: Corbus CRB-701 HNSCC poster. Saturday May 30: BriaCell Bria-IMT three posters in metastatic breast cancer. Sunday May 31: Bicycle Therapeutics zelenectide pevedotin Phase 1 Duravelo-1 monotherapy update poster; Avacta AVA6000 FAP-Dox Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland cancers poster session. Monday June 1 8:30-8:36 AM CT: Bicycle Therapeutics Duravelo-2 oral abstract (Abstract 4516). Monday June 1: Sapience Therapeutics lucicebtide poster session for newly-diagnosed GBM. The peptide-oncology cohort is the largest single-meeting concentration of peptide-mechanism oncology data in recent ASCO history.
ASCO 2026 abstract text released at 5 PM ET Thursday, ahead of the May 29-June 2 Chicago meeting. The peptide-oncology data landed simultaneously across the previously-announced slate. Bicycle Therapeutics released Duravelo-2 Phase 2/3 interim data on zelenectide pevedotin (BT8009) plus pembrolizumab in 1L locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer. Avacta released AVA6000 Phase 1b data in salivary gland cancers. BriaCell released final Phase 2 Bria-IMT survival data plus biomarker analyses from the ongoing Phase 3. BioVaxys's MVP-S PESCO Phase 1B/2 ovarian cancer abstract landed. Crinetics CRN09682 SSTR2 NDC BRAVESST2 abstract emerged. Pfizer released 40+ company-sponsored, investigator-sponsored, and collaborative oncology abstracts including three late-breaking sessions. The peptide-oncology cohort is the largest single ASCO presence in recent meeting history.
ASCO 2026 abstracts will release on asco.org/abstracts beginning 5:00 PM ET on Wednesday May 21, ahead of the May 29-June 2 Chicago meeting. The peptide-oncology slate is substantial: Pfizer announced 40+ company-sponsored, investigator-sponsored, and collaborative oncology abstracts including three late-breaking sessions; Bicycle Therapeutics has an oral and four poster presentations on zelenectide pevedotin (BT8009, nectin-4 PDC) with Duravelo-2 interim data; Avacta has Phase Ia/Ib data on AVA6000 (FAP-Dox PDC) in salivary gland cancers; BioVaxys's MVP-S survivin peptide vaccine PESCO trial data; BriaCell's six Bria-IMT/Bria-OTS+ presentations on metastatic breast cancer; and Replimune's RP1 + nivolumab 3-year melanoma OS data. Crinetics CRN09682 SSTR2 NDC BRAVESST2 update expected.