Boehringer Ingelheim accelerates precision oncology research with initiation of three Phase III trials in hard-to-treat cancers

Boehringer Ingelheim says it is accelerating precision oncology by initiating three Phase III trials across hard-to-treat cancers. The company began DAREON®-Lung-1 and DAREON®-NEC-1, evaluating obrixtamig, a DLL3 biomarker-informed DLL3/CD3 T-cell engager, in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (epNEC). It also initiated Beamion LUNG-3, exploring zongertinib in earlier stages of disease in resectable HER2 (ERBB2)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), where targeted options remain limited. Boehringer said DLL3 is expressed on tumor cells in SCLC and epNEC while largely absent from non-cancerous cells. The company’s stated goal is to move targeted therapies into earlier lines and extend biomarker-informed approaches into late-stage development, reinforcing its focus on areas with unmet need.