From “Undruggable” to New Therapies: Dr. Steve Yang on What It Takes to Advance Oncology Innovation

Dr. Steve Yang, Co-CEO of WuXi AppTec, recently joined the International Society of Oncology Prevention and Treatments podcast to discuss advances in oncology and the scientific, technical, and manufacturing capabilities needed to translate promising research into medicines. This article draws on that conversation.

Why New Oncology Targets Require New Development Capabilities

The next breakthroughs in precision oncology will depend not only on discovering new targets, but also on the industry’s ability to develop, manufacture and scale increasingly complex molecules.

For example, KRAS was once considered the textbook example of an “undruggable” target. However, today multiple KRAS inhibitors, including sotorasib and adagrasib, are available.

“It’s been very exciting to see these drugs move quickly to the market and address the unmet needs of patients,” Dr. Yang said. “KRAS itself is not new. The breakthrough was the discovery of a druggable pocket on the KRAS molecule—opening a new path for drug discovery.”

Different KRAS mutations may require mutation-specific inhibitors, and researchers are working on approaches that address them. This work is part of a broader expansion in oncology drug discovery. A growing range of new modalities—including targeted protein degraders (TPDs）, covalent inhibitors, oligonucleotides and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)—is expanding the scientific toolbox.

Some of these approaches can reach previously undruggable targets, while others are being developed to address drug resistance or cross the blood-brain barrier to reach brain metastases.

The More Complex the Molecule, the More Integration Matters

“The more complex the lock is, the more sophisticated the key needs to be,” Dr. Yang explained. “Integration is important because developing a new therapeutic modality requires coordination among discovery, development, and manufacturing, across scientific and technical disciplines, and between bench and bedside.” 

Through its integrated, end-to-end Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) platform, WuXi AppTec provides its partners with access to scientific expertise, technologies and manufacturing capabilities throughout the drug-development process.

That continuity becomes especially important during scale-up. A process that works in the laboratory may not work the same way at manufacturing scale. Teams need to learn from those differences, adjust the process, and feed what they learn back into development.

Targeted protein degradation offers a good example. At Yale University, Professor Craig Crews helped pioneer the PROTAC approach and founded Arvinas to commercialize the technology. WuXi AppTec has provided integrated support to Arvinas since 2016. 

The relationship illustrates the sustained coordination that complex modalities can require across discovery, development and manufacturing. In May 2026, the FDA approved vepdegestrant, developed by Arvinas and Pfizer, marking the first approval of a PROTAC protein degrader.

Capacity and Capability: Keeping Projects Moving

“Capacity ensures projects can progress without delay, and capability provides the expertise to problem-solve technical challenges while maintaining high quality,” Dr. Yang said.

WuXi AppTec continues to expand its global network. In the United States, a new site in Middletown, Delaware, will provide large-scale drug manufacturing and formulation capabilities starting in the fourth quarter of 2026. In Singapore, a large manufacturing facility for late-stage APIs is expected to be operational in early 2027. WuXi AppTec is also expanding capacity and capabilities at its manufacturing facility in Couvet, Switzerland.

Physical capacity must be matched by the technical capabilities needed to use it effectively. WuXi AppTec continues to deepen its expertise in new modalities and expand automation and digital operations across its network. Automation can increase throughput and reduce process variability, which may lower project costs over time.

But quality, said Dr. Yang, remains the most important consideration, ahead of innovation and integration. In the first half of 2026 alone, WuXi AppTec underwent 465 quality audits from global customers, regulatory agencies, and independent third parties, all with no critical findings. 

The company operates a unified global quality system built to satisfy the requirements of major regulators, so data generated in its laboratories and plants can support filings across markets. Those systems support customers’ regulatory submissions, but ownership of the drug and the regulatory relationship remains with the customer.

“We are an enabler. Customers own the drug and the regulatory relationship. WuXi AppTec provides the research, the manufacturing and the data to back them,” Dr. Yang said.

Remaining Focused on Unmet Needs

Dr. Yang remains optimistic about the direction of oncology research. “We have seen from many epidemiology studies that our fight against cancer on a global basis has made tremendous progress,” he said.

Survival and quality of life have improved in many cancers, and treatment options increasingly reflect tumor subtype and mutation status. Progress has come from new drugs as well as combination therapies that pair newer modalities with established treatments.

Yet substantial unmet need remains. As Dr. Yang put it, “Patients are still waiting.”