Parker Institute Showcases Breakthroughs in Immunotherapy at ASCO 2025 as CEO Dr. Karen Knudsen Receives Prestigious Honor
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the global oncology community gathers for the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (May 30–June 3), the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is demonstrating how bold science, accelerated through collaborative networks, can drive meaningful progress where patients need it most. At a pivotal moment when scientific breakthroughs in immunotherapy are arriving alongside heightened pressure for faster, smarter impact, PICI's integrated model shows how to compress timelines from discovery to patient care.
PICI's presence spans more than 50 presentations including 16 oral sessions, 30+ poster sessions, 10 e-papers and a featured clinical science symposium. This volume reflects not only the strength of the PICI network but also a unique ability to support promising work early and help carry it across the finish line, from foundational discoveries to practice-changing trials.
Glioblastoma Breakthroughs: New Hope for Cancer's Most Formidable Challenge
After decades of limited progress in glioblastoma, where median survival has hovered around one year, multiple PICI-supported teams are reporting clinical responses that suggest the field may be turning a corner. These advances demonstrate how collaboration, persistence and innovation can converge on even the most intractable problems:
Stanford Medicine researchers achieved median overall survival of 14.6 months in recurrent glioblastoma patients using B7H3 CAR T cells delivered directly to the brain via dual Ommaya reservoirs. The Phase 1 study established a recommended Phase 2 dose and demonstrated manageable inflammation using IL-1 blockade, offering a tangible advance in a cancer where meaningful clinical progress has long remained elusive. (Crystal Mackall, MD, Director of the PICI Center at Stanford; Michelle Monje, MD, PhD — Abstract #2018)
University of Pennsylvania investigators reported tumor shrinkage in 85% of evaluable patients using bivalent CAR T-cell therapy targeting EGFR and IL13Rα2 in recurrent glioblastoma. Delivered into the cerebroventricular space without lymphodepletion, the engineered T cells persisted in cerebrospinal fluid and blood for up to one year, marking an encouraging step toward sustained response and long-term disease management. (Carl June, MD, Director of the PICI Center at Penn; Donald O'Rourke, MD — Abstract #102)
UCSF and Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers identified more than 700 glioma-specific, splice-derived neoantigens using the SNIPP antigen discovery platform. These targets elicited CD8+ T-cell responses in vitro and many were conserved across tumors, opening the door to scalable, potentially off-the-shelf TCR-based therapies. (Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, UCSF — Abstract #2519)
Leadership Recognition: PICI CEO Receives ASCO's Highest Honor
Dr. Karen Knudsen, PICI's CEO, will receive the Allen S. Lichter Visionary Leader Award during ASCO's opening session, recognizing a career spent building bridges from bench to patient and helping reshape how academic institutions, nonprofits and companies move from insight to implementation. Saturday, May 31, 9:45 AM–12:00 PM CDT, Room N - Hall B1
Dr. Knudsen will also join Endpoints News for a live discussion on research acceleration, regulatory pace and how PICI's model aligns research, policy and investment with the realities facing patients today. Wednesday, June 4, 10:35 AM CDT, Endpoints Stage
Network-Wide Impact: Where Discovery Meets Delivery
PICI-supported science appears across the ASCO agenda, tackling critical questions in high-burden cancers through studies connected by a framework that enables speed, coordination and clinical relevance. These presentations reflect a hallmark of the PICI approach: compressing the distance between new insight and patient impact, often turning early-stage ideas into clinical action within just a few years.
Melanoma Advances
DREAMseq Final Results: Optimal treatment sequencing in BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma (Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell; Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, UCLA — Abstract #9506)
Quadruple Immunotherapy: IL-6 blockade combined with checkpoint inhibitors in advanced melanoma (F. Stephen Hodi, MD, Dana-Farber — Abstract #9510)
Neoadjuvant Strategy: Pembrolizumab in clinical stage IIB/C melanoma (Alexander Huang, MD, University of Pennsylvania — Abstract #9502)
Prostate Cancer Innovation
COMRADE Trial: Olaparib plus radium-223 in castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases (Eliezer Van Allen, MD, Dana-Farber — Abstract #5007)
C3NIRA Trial: Triplet chemo-immunotherapy induction followed by PARP inhibitor maintenance (Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, MD Anderson — Abstract #5008)
Breast and Lung Cancer Precision Strategies
NeoSTAR Trial: Response-guided neoadjuvant sacituzumab govitecan plus pembrolizumab in early triple-negative breast cancer (Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber — Abstract #511)
ADRIATIC Correlatives: Genomic analysis of long-term responders in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (David Barbie, MD, Dana-Farber — Abstract #8014)
Translational Platforms
INCIPIENT Trial: CARv3-TEAM-E immunological correlates in recurrent glioblastoma (Marcela Maus, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital — Abstract #2008)
BRCA1/2 DNA Vaccines: Plasmid-based immunotherapy platform with and without IL-12 (Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, University of Pennsylvania — Abstract #10505)
About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) accelerates breakthrough immune therapies from discovery to patient impact through a collaborative network of the nation's top cancer centers. Founded in 2016 through the vision of Sean Parker, PICI unites leading institutions in a translational engine built for speed, coordination and clinical relevance. Unlike traditional research models, PICI goes beyond discovery by actively advancing promising innovations through clinical testing, company formation, incubation and commercialization.
PICI supports high-risk, high-reward science with shared goals, data and infrastructure, helping compress timelines from laboratory discovery to patient access. The institute has supported more than 1,000 investigators across its network and created a portfolio of 17 biotech ventures with over $4 billion in raised capital. By integrating scientific excellence with entrepreneurial execution, PICI is reimagining how cures are made and accelerating their path to the people who need them most.
Learn more at parkerici.org. Follow #PICIatASCO for updates throughout the meeting.
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