One modality bent the curve at ASCO 2026. While checkpoint-inhibitor attention plateaued and several once-hot small-molecule classes receded, bispecific antibodies and T-cell engagers grew faster than anything else in the program. We counted every ASCO study mentioning a bispecific across three years — the trajectory is the clearest growth signal in oncology right now.
87% growth in two years
Using the Knitify ASCO Radar, we tagged every study that mentions one of seventeen approved or clinical-stage bispecific antibodies / T-cell engagers. The class grew from 91 studies in 2024 to 102 in 2025 to 170 in 2026 — an 87% increase over two years and a 67% jump in the most recent year alone. For context, checkpoint inhibitors — still the largest IO class by far — were flat to slightly down over the same period.
That divergence is the story. The immuno-oncology field is not shrinking; it is re-tooling. The mechanism of action is shifting from "release the brakes on existing T-cells" (checkpoint blockade) to "physically connect a T-cell to a tumor antigen" (T-cell engagers) and "block two pathways with one molecule" (dual-targeting bispecifics like PD-1×VEGF and PD-1×CTLA-4).
The bench is deep — and it spans every tumor stream
This is not a one-drug phenomenon. The radar surfaces a broad, maturing bench, with double-digit study counts across heme and solid tumors alike.
The standout is tarlatamab, a DLL3×CD3 engager for small cell lung cancer that went from 2 studies in 2024 to 37 in 2026 — the steepest single-asset rise in the meeting. But the depth matters more than any one name: BCMA engagers (teclistamab, elranatamab) and a GPRC5D engager (talquetamab) anchor a crowded myeloma stream; CD20×CD3 engagers (epcoritamab, glofitamab, mosunetuzumab) anchor lymphoma; and a new wave of solid-tumor bispecifics — ivonescimab (PD-1×VEGF), amivantamab (EGFR×MET), cadonilimab (PD-1×CTLA-4), and tebentafusp (gp100×CD3) — is pushing the modality decisively beyond its hematology origins.
| Bispecific (targets) | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Lead indication stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tarlatamab (DLL3 × CD3) | 2 | 12 | 37 | Small cell lung cancer |
| amivantamab (EGFR × MET) | 11 | 15 | 24 | EGFR-mutant NSCLC |
| teclistamab (BCMA × CD3) | 13 | 13 | 24 | Multiple myeloma |
| cadonilimab (PD-1 × CTLA-4) | 18 | 17 | 24 | Gastric / cervical (China) |
| talquetamab (GPRC5D × CD3) | 7 | 15 | 21 | Multiple myeloma |
| ivonescimab (PD-1 × VEGF) | 2 | 9 | 20 | NSCLC, broad solid tumors |
| tebentafusp (gp100 × CD3) | 8 | 5 | 15 | Uveal melanoma |
| elranatamab (BCMA × CD3) | 5 | 13 | 15 | Multiple myeloma |
| epcoritamab (CD20 × CD3) | 10 | 7 | 14 | B-cell lymphoma |
| glofitamab (CD20 × CD3) | 5 | 8 | 12 | B-cell lymphoma |
Why the solid-tumor crossover is the real signal
T-cell engagers earned their first approvals in hematologic cancers, where the target antigens are clean and the tumor is accessible to circulating T-cells. The hard frontier has always been solid tumors. ASCO 2026 is the year that frontier visibly moved: tarlatamab in SCLC, ivonescimab across lung and beyond, and amivantamab in EGFR-mutant lung each carry more studies than several legacy heme engagers. The dual-pathway bispecifics (PD-1×VEGF, PD-1×CTLA-4) are a distinct and commercially loaded sub-story — ivonescimab's headline plenary readout is covered in our companion piece on China's ASCO moment.
The commercialization read
For BD teams: the bispecific bench is now deep enough that the competitive question has shifted from "does the modality work?" to "which target pair, which tumor, and is the lane already crowded?" Myeloma BCMA/GPRC5D engagers are crowded; novel solid-tumor antigen pairs and next-generation formats (lower cytokine-release-syndrome, off-the-shelf dosing, subcutaneous delivery) are where differentiation still lives.
For investors: an 87% two-year rise in study volume is the kind of leading indicator that precedes a wave of pivotal readouts and licensing deals. The assets with the steepest individual curves — tarlatamab, ivonescimab, talquetamab — are the ones whose franchises are forming in real time.
Explore the underlying data
Every number above is live and pivotable on the Knitify ASCO Radar — analyze the 7,222 studies in the ASCO 2026 program by drug, indication, sponsor, or trial-in-progress status, and compare year over year against 2025 and 2024. Filter the board to a bispecific drug to reproduce every count in this article. The radar links to each study on the official ASCO program; it does not reproduce copyrighted text.
Methodology & scope: figures in this article are structured signals the Knitify ASCO Radar derives from the publicly released ASCO 2026 scientific program (7,222 studies presented; 6,511 in 2025; 5,885 in 2024) — counting how many studies reference a given drug, indication, or modality class. They quantify research attention and momentum, not clinical efficacy or market share. Named trial results are quoted from public company press releases, the ASCO press program, and peer-reviewed journals (cited below). The radar does not reproduce any copyrighted text — it links to each study on the official ASCO program. This is editorial commentary on public data — not investment, legal, regulatory, or medical advice.