In a sponsored episode of Podnosis, host Chris Hayden speaks with Dr. Steven O’Day, chief medical officer at Agenus, about the latest advancements in immunotherapy. With more than 30 years of experience in oncology, O’Day discusses how immunotherapy is changing cancer treatment and providing new hope where traditional methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation, often fall short.

Unlike conventional treatments that directly attack cancer cells, immunotherapy strengthens the body’s immune system—particularly T-cells—to recognize and destroy cancer. While this approach has led to significant breakthroughs in treating melanoma, challenges remain in tackling “cold” tumors, such as colorectal cancer, which the immune system struggles to identify.

Agenus is working to address this issue with its experimental therapies, botensilimab and balstilimab. The treatments aim to activate and sustain the immune response, showing promising results across multiple hard-to-treat cancers.

What’s next for immunotherapy? O’Day believes the field is entering a second revolution, with the potential to expand life-saving treatments to a broader range of cancers.

Listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of Podnosis.