How to Turn ASCO, ESMO and ASH Into Actionable Competitive Intelligence
Every year, ASCO, ESMO, ASH, SABCS and other major oncology congresses release thousands of abstracts, posters and oral presentations. For competitive intelligence and medical teams, the challenge is not access to data; it is deciding what matters before the next meeting starts. Effective oncology conference coverage is a process, not a pile of notes.
Before the meeting: define what you are looking for
Abstract titles are usually released ahead of the meeting. Use that window to build a watch list.
- Your own assets and those of direct competitors.
- Emerging mechanisms in your cancer areas, such as new targets, bispecifics, antibody-drug conjugates or cell therapies.
- Trials likely to change a treatment algorithm, including late-breaking Phase 3 studies.
- Real-world and long-term follow-up data that may shift how existing products are perceived.
During the meeting: capture more than the slide
The presented data are only part of the story. The discussant’s critique, audience questions and hallway conversations often reveal how experts actually interpret a result. Attending analysts should record qualitative reactions alongside the numbers: was a finding greeted as practice-changing, or was there debate about trial design, crossover or patient selection?
Distinguish signal from noise
Ask the same questions of every major presentation:
- Is the endpoint clinically meaningful (overall survival, progression-free survival, response, quality of life)?
- Is the comparator the current standard of care?
- Is the patient population representative of those treated in practice?
- Are the safety and tolerability trade-offs acceptable?
- What follow-up is still needed before the result is considered mature?
Deliver fast, in a format people read
Speed matters, particularly for medical affairs teams that must debrief leadership and prepare field teams within days. The best conference deliverables are concise and consistently structured: key data, comparison with the current landscape and an explicit implications section that states what the result means for your products and strategy.
After the meeting: connect the dots
A conference report becomes more valuable when it is linked to what came before. Update your pipeline tracker, treatment algorithm and competitor profiles with each new readout, and flag the next catalysts: regulatory filings, follow-up presentations and upcoming data releases.
Tailor coverage to the audience
A medical science liaison needs scientific detail and likely physician questions. A commercial leader needs positioning and competitive threats. A clinical development lead needs design and enrollment implications. One data set, several views.
If your team would rather spend meeting week acting on insights than assembling them, talk to us about conference coverage.
Keep reading: oncology pipeline tracking, oncology treatment algorithm maps and competitive intelligence for CROs and cancer centers.