The world’s largest academic conference on lung cancer is set to take place in Seoul for the first time in 19 years. South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Yuhan Corporation, Voronoi, and STCube, are gearing up to unveil clinical results for their innovative lung cancer drugs in development. All eyes are on whether these candidates can prove their global competitiveness by overcoming resistance to existing treatments or targeting novel pathways.
Industry sources reported on Wednesday that the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) will host the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC 2026) from September 12 to 15 at COEX in Seoul. This marks the conference’s return to South Korea after a 19-year hiatus, last held in 2007. The event is expected to draw researchers and medical professionals from over 100 countries, who will share more than 2,300 research findings.
Yuhan Corporation is set to present early results from Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for YH42946, a non-small cell lung cancer treatment viewed as a potential successor to LECLAZA. YH42946 is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting mutations such as HER2 and EGFR exon 20 insertions. The conference will shed light on its safety profile, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary anti-tumor activity.
With LECLAZA (generic name: Lazertinib) having secured approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and entered the global market, there’s considerable interest in the potential of this homegrown cancer treatment.
Voronoi plans to showcase six studies related to its next-generation EGFR-targeted therapy VRN11 and HER2-targeted treatment VRN10. VRN11 aims to address resistance mutations like C797S that emerge after using existing EGFR-targeted therapies, and is being developed with high brain permeability to tackle brain metastases.
During the conference, clinical data for VRN11 will be featured in a mini-oral presentation. The drug’s development scope has expanded to include both patients whose disease has progressed after existing treatments and those who are treatment-naïve, making its anti-tumor efficacy and safety profile key points of interest.
STCube will unveil early Phase 2 clinical results for Nelmastobart, an immuno-oncology drug targeting the immune checkpoint protein BTN1A1 in non-small cell lung cancer. The study evaluates its efficacy in patients with high BTN1A1 expression when combined with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. There’s growing curiosity about whether it can overcome the limitations of existing PD-1 and PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Abion will also make its presence felt at WCLC with Vabametkib (ABN401), its MET mutation-targeted non-small cell lung cancer drug. This targeted cancer therapy selectively inhibits MET, a protein involved in cancer cell growth and metastasis. During the conference, Abion aims to engage in discussions about clinical development and potential technology transfer with global experts and pharmaceutical companies.
The domestic companies attending this WCLC are targeting a diverse range of pathways, including HER2, EGFR, BTN1A1, and MET. With LECLAZA having successfully entered the global lung cancer market, this conference is poised to be a crucial platform for showcasing the potential of subsequent homegrown cancer drugs.
An industry insider remarked that lung cancer affects a large patient population worldwide and has significant unmet medical needs. It anticipates a strong turnout of global experts and big pharma at this WCLC. As domestic companies present their innovative pipelines and clinical results, this event is likely to boost their global market competitiveness and open doors for technology transfer and strategic partnerships
