Netflix has greenlit the YA series “Crew Girl,” with the show now in production in Victoria, British Columbia.
Miku Martineau (“Bet,” “Kate,” “Star Trek: Section 31”) will lead the cast, which also includes Jessica Paré (“SEAL Team,” “Mad Men”) as Ella, Samuel Braun (“The Marshmallow Experiment,” “Time Cut,” “Bad Genius”) as Josh, Kyle Clark (“Hello,” “Goodbye and Everything,” “The Baby-Sitter’s Club,” “Riverdale”) as Cam, and Thomas Cadrot (“Scream,” “So Help Me Todd,” “Family Law”).
The official logline for the series states:
“A frothy, coming-of-age teen drama about a 16-year-old female rower Teagan (Martineau) who becomes the coxswain of a dysfunctional all-boys rowing team at an elite East Coast Prep School. Warring rivals, messy romantic entanglements, and betrayed friendships spill drama both in and out of the boat. Not to mention her complicated relationship with her mom, Ella (Paré). The team’s a mess, her life’s a mess. Can she fix both and win?”
Vivian Lin serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Jeff Norton, Lindsay Macadam, Hillary Zwick Turner, Tony Chung, and Lori Massini also executive produce. The series is produced by Thunderbird Entertainment’s scripted and unscripted live action division, Great Pacific Media.
This marks the latest Netflix project in which Martineau has starred. Most recently, she played the lead role in the teen drama “Bet” and also starred in the 2021 Netflix film “Kate.”
Other productions that hail from Thunderbird Entertainment include “Sidelined: The QB and Me,” “Boot Camp,” “Kim’s Convenience,” “Mermicorno: Starfall,” “Super Team Canada,” ‘Molly of Denali,” and “Highway Thru Hell.”
It was a week after his departure from EastEnders, and Ben Hardy was screen testing for one of Hollywood’s most anticipated films of the 2010s. He’d been tapped to take over the iconic role of Peter Beale from Thomas Law in the long-running British soap — and did so for two years — but, eventually, Hardy had bigger plans.
“Look, it’s a great gig,” the 34-year-old tells The Hollywood Reporter about his early career aspirations. “But I was keen to drop in and then drop out.”
He’d set his sights much higher than EastEnders, and it wasn’t long at all until the actor was rewarded for his tenacity. The following week, Hardy was in L.A. and preparing to make his feature film debut as Angel in X-Men: Apocalypse next to Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Oscar Isaac. “I was trying to be like: ‘These are just people,’” Hardy admits. “But undoubtedly, I was starstruck by these people. I was very nervous.”
After X-Men, it’s fair to say the Devon-born star’s portfolio has varied. From James Krishna Floyd and Sally El Hosaini’s low-budget queer indie Unicorns to Netflix’s smash hit romcom Love at First Sight with Haley Lu Richardson, Hardy’s nearly done it all. He’s even been privy to the height of Hollywood glamor after his role as Queen drummer Roger Taylor in Bryan Singer’s four-time Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
One genre he is yet to conquer, however, is horror — until now. Hardy stars opposite Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Mia Tomlinson in the final installment of The Conjuring universe, aptly titled The Conjuring: Last Rites. Wilson and Farmiga once again play real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are forced to take on one last case in Michael Chaves’ film. Hardy plays Tony, the new boyfriend of Tomlinson’s Judy Warren, who dares not confess to her parents how strong her connection to the supernatural world really is.
“For fans of The Conjuring universe, I’d like to think of him as a breath of fresh air,” Hardy says about Tony Spera. “He gives you moments of reprieve, I hope, amidst the scares. I like to think of him as the golden retriever in the movie.” For those not familiar with The Conjuring franchise, now totalling four films with Last Rites, Tony’s your access point: “He’s never seen a Conjuring movie either, you know?”
Ben Hardy as Tony Spera in The Conjuring: Last Rites.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Below, Hardy catches up with THR about his career up until now. He discusses being a newbie on a star-studded set like X-Men, why the film industry should be making more movies for $10 million and finding himself trying to impress Patrick Wilson like the man is his real father-in-law: “Sometimes those lines can get so blurred… Tony was also desperate to get Ed’s approval. So did I, in a strange way, become desperate to get Patrick’s approval? Maybe.”
I want to start on EastEnders because I read that you were a little bit claustrophobic, perhaps, on that set — keen to get out.
I think I was very aspirational. Look, it’s a great gig, and you make a good salary in an industry where there’s so many actors that aren’t working. We’re so oversubscribed. But I was very ambitious, yeah, so I was keen to drop in and then drop out. But I learned so much in terms of acting for [the] screen.
In hindsight, do you think starting on a soap was quite a valuable experience for your career?
I definitely do think so, because — maybe it’s changed now — but when I went to drama school, you do two weeks of TV and film training, which is just nuts, really. I hope that’s changed. [It’s learning] the basics of what you shouldn’t be thinking about, just hitting marks and knowing where the camera is. The more experienced you are, the better you are at this, but [just] having an awareness of where the cameras are so you know what audience you’re playing to but also not being so aware of it that you seems self-conscious in your performance… Things like that. But that just comes from time and practice, which you get on a soap, you know?
How did that enormous leap from EastEnders to X-Men happen?
X-Men, that was wild. God, I was overjoyed. I was young and it is exciting. It was a very surreal experience at the time, to go into that world that you’d witnessed from afar as we all do in the West: Hollywood.
When I was in EastEnders, maybe six months before I left, my U.K. agent was basically trying to help me get a U.S. agent by sending out a show reel to American agents. I then went to L.A. for a couple of weeks and met a bunch of U.S. agents. Got a U.S. agent and manager, and then from there, they started putting me up for things. And [the X-Men audition] was just one of the many tapes amongst thousands of people that probably auditioned for for X-Men, so I was very fortunate. And also did a good job, I like to think, through the audition process. But so I did a tape and then I met the director and then had a screen test literally the week after I left EastEnders.
Was that daunting or were you trying to take it all in your stride?
I think I was trying to take it all in my stride. I was trying to be like: “These are just people.” But undoubtedly, I was starstruck by these people. I was very nervous. And actually, day one, this was horrific… My first day on set, I was in this superhero costume and they all cost about at least $100,000 to make — these custom, made-to-measure superhero suits. But mine decided to split right by my ass, basically. So I had this gaping hole in my ass and Helene, a lovely woman, sewing up my rear whilst they were calling for me to be on set. And I didn’t want to seem like a diva to be late to set, but I also didn’t want to come on set and meet your Jennifer Lawrences and Michael Fassbenders with my ass hanging out. So I was in a real conundrum.
That doesn’t sound like $100k’s worth…
Something went wrong!
Then you’re in an Oscar favorite movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, playing Roger Taylor. What was that like, with the proximity to Queen too?
I was absolutely overjoyed to get the part because Queen are so huge, right? Especially over [in the U.K.], but also worldwide. But I don’t think any of us really expected the heights that that movie would reach. There were moments where we thought the movie wasn’t even going to get finished — that it was going to get shut down [disgraced filmmaker Singer was sacked before the film finished shooting, and replaced with Dexter Fletcher]. The storm that ensued afterwards was… I very much took it in my stride, but I kind of wish in hindsight that I had a better awareness of just quite how special that experience was. It was a whirlwind, and it was incredible, and I look back on it and think very fondly of it, but it was definitely something that was a seminal moment for me, for sure.
Do you feel like you didn’t stop and soak it up as much as you should have?
Exactly, yeah. Maybe through imposter syndrome. I think I so wanted to belong in this Oscar buzz season that I sort of tried to downplay everything I did through a lot [of the] early years in my career, to feel more like I belonged there. Every actor has imposter syndrome. Everyone on the planet has bloody imposter syndrome or [are at] different degrees along that spectrum. I was trying to be cool as a young man. But I think if I was to go through a similar experience again, I would definitely pause more often to take it all in. It’s definitely good to appreciate being in those moments.
From left: Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Gwilym Lee as Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Everett Collection
Is the film industry Hollywood in Hollywood an enjoyable one right now? How has it changed since you entered 10 years ago?
It’s such good question. It’s hard to really gauge because it’s always constantly in flux, but more so than ever, considering the events of the past six years — with COVID-19 and then also with the strikes in Hollywood… I think especially in America, but also in the U.K., it definitely still feels like everyone’s finding their feet and getting a sense of the landscape. What does this look like now? I do feel that. And I think, obviously, you know, with the introduction of streamers, it does feel very different to what it did 10 years ago. The model feels very much different. It’s tough for me to gauge because I was a young man doing X-Men. There was definitely much more excitement around certain things, because they were new and they were fresh. [I’m a] man in my mid-30s now. Not that I don’t enjoy it anymore, but [I] enjoy it in a different way. I’m less intoxicated or overwhelmed by the thrills of Hollywood.
I think people have made such losses in our industry that the money men want sure things. If I was to try and be clairvoyant about the whole thing, I think they [should] probably look at the business, change up the business model, especially with streamers, and take [a lot] more punts on lower budget movies, especially when you look at like the success of independent film, things like Anora. If I was the man investing in these movies, not that I’ve analyzed the data, but that would be where I would go: “Let’s try and make some $6-$10 million movies [or] throw $20 million at the wall and see what sticks,” rather than spending $50 million on a movie where, unless it hits big, it’s not gonna necessarily make it back.
Love at First Sight was of course a Netflix film that did brilliantly. Were you surprised by the reaction to it?
For sure. People loved it. You never know when you make a movie. That was an independent film, but Netflix picked it up. It was 28 days shooting days and it was all pretty frantic, coming out of COVID. Haley and I were there with our visors, doing rehearsals together and stuff. I had zero idea [how popular it would be]. But I saw the movie and I love a romcom, and I managed to objectively find it quite heartwarming. Quite moving. I did think, I’m proud of this and happy with this. So when it did so well and people had those reactions, it was really rewarding as well. Because that’s why I do this in the first place, because movies have given that to me. So I want to try and give that to other people, too.
Would you return to the romcom world?
Fuck yeah. I love romcoms for sure. It’s tough — it’s hard to find something original within that genre because it’s been done so many times. But the right thing? For sure.
Lastly, before we get onto The Conjuring: Last Rites, I do want to touch on Unicorns, which was a real foray into queer cinema and lauded by critics as well. I can imagine that was a really artistically satisfying experience. Were you proud to put that one out into the world?
Yeah. That’s probably the work I’m most proud of, that film. Just in terms of how I think the film turned out and my performance and the feedback from viewers who it seems to have had a profound impact on — [especially] some people who are marginalized or feel marginalized. That feels like something I’m truly proud of. Also just from an artistic perspective, I was a big fan of Sally [El Hosaini]’s work, one of the directors, so to get to work with her… she’s very inspiring. She’s a tough one to top for any director I would ever work with. She’s truly spectacular.
The Conjuring, then… This is a huge franchise. Do you remember when you watched the first film in 2013?
I watched it at the cinema. I think it was 2013. I would have been 21 or 22, fresh out of drama school. I suppose I’m getting more into it now, but I’ve never been a huge horror buff, you know? But that’s one I went to watch. And I do think [The Conjuring] films are truly special. The “based on a true story” aspect within the horror genre is nuts. It just makes it that much more chilling and disturbing.
That’s interesting that you don’t consider yourself a big horror fan — was this a genre you’ve wanted to sink your teeth into for a while, or has it been more a happy coincidence?
It’s the latter. What I’ve grown to love about horror is the cinematic experience of it. It’s so great to see the cinema. And I’m not just saying this because it’s about to come out, but it’s a really communal experience going to the cinema and watching a horror. Or you don’t even have to be with anyone — go watch it on your own and and you end up collectively gasping and having those jump scares. I’m a big fan of community, I suppose. And there is a real sense of community watching a horror movie.
But as a viewer, generally, my relationship with entertainment was very much… at the end of the day I want to stick on something that’s going to transport me and take me away. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to relax. And I don’t find horror relaxing. So it’s a different viewing experience. But when this came up, [I thought] if I was ever going to do a horror movie, this franchise would be the one to do. I’m a fan of the Blumhouse [Productions] films as well… I like to try new things. I get bored very easily. So to try a different genre was exciting.
I saw it earlier this week, actually, and it was the first horror film I’ve ever gone to see by myself. I was watching it through my hands.
Oh, that’s really interesting. I’m curious how scary it is. I’m genuinely curious, because obviously it’s the first time I’ve acted in one and I watched it, and understandably, don’t find it [scary]… I read the script, but I did still jump at moments.
Well, that’s also interesting. So there were no moments through filming that you found frightening?
The scary moments on a horror film set are not in the filming of it. They’re when you’re caught by surprise, when you see [characters in costume] outside of [their] trailer, unexpectedly. That kind of freaked me out. But in terms of the filming of it, maybe the most you’ll ever get is the first take might be a little bit scary and you get into the realm of imagination, but other than that, that’s the nature of the job.
Sometimes I watch [scenes] I wasn’t a part of and I’d be like, “Oh, that’s trippy. That’s going to play well.” But it’s just very hard [to predict]. That’s probably what studios wrestle with when they make horror movies, trying to work out what’s going to get the scares. But I suppose when you read the script, you go, “Oh, that’s chilling, that’s going to be scary.” The first read of the script is probably more informative than anything.
So how would you describe your character, Tony?
To people that have never seen a Conjuring movie, I’d say he’s your access point, because he’s never seen a Conjuring movie either, you know? He’s new to the Warrens. He’s fallen in love with Judy Warren. They’ve done thousands of cases but to him, it’s all brand new information. So that’s his purpose from a storytelling perspective, I suppose. But for fans of The Conjuring universe, I’d like to think of him as a breath of fresh air. He gives you moments of reprieve, I hope, amidst the scares. I like to think of him as the golden retriever in the movie.
I was actually a little suspicious of him. I don’t know if I was meant to be…
When I first read the script, I was like, “Is that an angle we’re going down?” I think that the director didn’t necessarily want to pursue that, but to throw another element of suspicion into the mix in a horror movie is never a bad thing. But I don’t think I was playing for that… I know what you mean, because he’s asking lots of questions.
Patrick and Vera are legends of the genre now. What was it like to see them in action?
It was both exciting and intimidating. It’s their franchise and you’re stepping into it so you want to make a good impression, because understandably, they would be protective about it. But to be honest, they were just so welcoming from the start. They were very much there to help rather than judge, you know? I spent more time with Patrick, maybe just because I was in more scenes with Patrick, but both were just incredibly generous actors [and] very generous with with their franchise. I can’t really speak highly enough of them, and I think they’re both fantastic.
Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, Ben Hardy as Tony Spera and director Michael Chaves for The Conjuring: Last Rites.
Photo by Giles Keyte
It almost mirrors the film and your characters a little bit, with Tony stepping into this new world he knows nothing about.
It definitely crossed my mind. It’s always funny whenever you get into that kind of situation when you’re filming something — sometimes those lines can get so blurred. Even to this day, I love Patrick and I think he’s fantastic, but Tony was also desperate to get Ed’s approval. So did I, in a strange way, become desperate to get Patrick’s approval? Maybe. But do I also objectively think he’s a wonderful man, father, actor? Yeah. So those lines do get blurred for sure but it’s quite useful to have those real-life situations mimicking the fiction.
I also only just realized Mia is British, too. Did that help with building your chemistry? Because your American accents are fantastic.
I enjoyed doing one, I’ve not done an American accent for a minute. And this time, I started staying in accents when I film, which can seem a bit wanky, but it’s incredibly helpful. It’s not a method man thing. It’s more just [that the] American accent is much harder work for the mouth. [British] accents are a little bit lazier. [American] R’s are much tougher for us to do, so to stay in it just helps keep those muscles active and alive and help you be less self conscious of it.
But in terms of building chemistry… Don’t get me wrong, I have many American friends that I love, but I think when you meet someone for the first time, if you’re in America and there’s another Brit, sometimes you gravitate towards them because you have these cultural similarities that you can relate to each other with. It’s an easy option. And Mia is great. She’s great in the movie. She’s cool, she’s very hard-working. She really earned the part, and she smashed it.
If the opportunity arose, would you return to the horror world?
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
Samsung recently launched a new smartphone: the Galaxy S25 FE. It is the company’s latest midrange mobile device and shares many of the same features of its more powerful siblings. If you’re thinking of buying the Galaxy S25 FE, there’s a new promotion from AT&T that I’d like to share with you.
AT&T customers, current and new, can get the Galaxy S25 FE for $6 a month on any unlimited plan. There’s no trade-in requirement. According to the carrier, this deal will save you about $435. The phone normally costs $650, so it’s a sizable discount.
Also: Your Android phone just got a major Bluetooth upgrade for free – how it works
On the surface, the Galaxy S25 FE looks nearly identical to the base Galaxy S25, sporting a similarly sleek design and three-lens camera system. The main difference: The FE is bigger, sporting a 6.7-inch AMOLED display instead of a 6.2-inch screen. It even has a 4,900mAh battery, which is larger than the Galaxy S25’s 4,000mAh.
The Galaxy S25 FE falls behind in one area: performance. The midrange model comes with an Exynos 2400 chipset instead of the more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Still, the Exynos platform is capable of supporting Samsung’s resource-intensive AI features, including Generative Edit for removing objects in photographs, Audio Eraser for cleaning up audio, and the Now Brief summarizer. That last one is like a personal secretary, informing users of any upcoming appointments and highlighting recommended routes.
Also: How to clear your Android phone cache (and the hidden problem it actually fixes)
Thanks to its upgrades, the Galaxy S25 FE is a solid midrange model and a good choice for anyone who wants a modern Galaxy experience without the flagship price. Alongside the S25 FE deal, AT&T is also offering shoppers “50% off [certain] Samsung accessories with the purchase of any Samsung connected device.”
In this context, a Samsung-connected device refers to tablets like the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Smartphones are not part of this particular deal. The accessories in question include Samsung’s 45W USB-C Power Adapter and the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
How I rated this deal
As per ZDNET’s rating system, I granted this deal a perfect score of 5/5. AT&T states that its deal is a 66% discount — a huge price drop. Anyone looking for a new phone should definitely take advantage of this while it lasts.
It is currently unknown if and when the Galaxy S2 FE deal will end. However, according to AT&T, the 50% off Samsung accessory promotion will end on October 2.
Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to score savings and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.
Show more
We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech.
In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.
At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members’ expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals are chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts.
Amazon has fired more than 150 unionized drivers working for a third-party contractor in Queens, New York, according to the Teamsters union.
Workers rallied at the company’s DBK4 facility in Queens on Monday after the company fired the drivers, who worked for Cornucopia, a delivery service provider (DSP) that Amazon contracted with to make deliveries. Amazon works with more than 3,000 DSPs around the world who deliver the company’s packages.
The Teamsters said the firings were in retaliation for unionizing.
“Amazon is breaking the law and we let the public know it,” said Antonio Rosario, a member of local 804 and a Teamster organizer, in a statement. “Amazon workers will continue to organize and fight for what they deserve.”
Amazon has long claimed that drivers who are employed by third-party contractors are not employees of the company, and that firing a contractor does not amount to retaliation for unionizing.
In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson, Eileen Hards, called the move “a recent change we made that’s designed to allow DSPs to be more hands-on with their teams and support their operations at one delivery station”.
“Our goal is to provide customers with fast delivery and great service – and we regularly review and make changes to the DSP program in support of this,” Hards said.
Last August, a National Labor Relations Board official in Los Angeles ruled that Amazon had engaged in unfair labor practices after it terminated its contract with Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS), another DSP based in Palmdale, California, whose drivers had unionized with the Teamsters.
Although the NLRB said that Amazon’s action did not amount to retaliation, the official said Amazon and BTS “unlawfully failed and refused to bargain with the union over effects of the decision to terminate the BTS contract”.
In its ruling, the NLRB deemed Amazon a joint employer of the drivers. Amazon has appealed against the ruling.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Teamsters organized a strike among Amazon warehouse workers across eight facilities over what the company says were stalled contract negotiations for better pay and working conditions.
Last September, Amazon joined companies including SpaceX that argued the structure of the NLRB is unconstitutional because its board members cannot be removed by the president. Though a ruling on the case has not been issued, the supreme court stayed Donald Trump’s firing of Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the NLRB, despite being blocked by a lower court.
Since Wilcox’s position remains unfilled, the labor board does not have a quorum to rule on labor disputes, meaning it’s unable to rule on major labor disputes.
The seizure-related homolog protein 6 (SEZ6)–targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) ABBV-706 produced durable clinical benefit with a manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to updated findings from the dose-optimization portion of a first-in-human phase 1 trial (NCT05599984), which were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer.1
In the total population (n = 80), the confirmed overall response rate (cORR) was 58%. Responses were seen across key patient subgroups, as well as patients with platinum-refractory/resistant disease and those with brain metastases. Among patients who had received 2 prior lines of therapy (n = 30) or at least 3 prior lines of therapy (n = 50), the cORRs were 77% and 46%, respectively. Among patients with prior chemotherapy-free intervals of 90 days or longer (n = 30), less than 90 days (n = 41), and less than 30 days (n = 19), the cORRs were 57%, 59%, and 53%, respectively. Among patients with (n = 28) and without (n = 36) brain metastases at baseline, the cORRs were 57% and 69%, respectively. Notably, SEZ6 expression levels were similar between responders and nonresponders.
Among patients treated at the 1.8-mg/kg dose (n = 41), the cORR was 56%. Of patients who had received 2 prior lines of therapy (n = 16) or at least 3 prior lines of therapy (n = 25), the cORRs were 81% and 40%, respectively. Among patients with prior chemotherapy-free intervals of 90 days or longer (n = 12), less than 90 days (n = 24), and less than 30 days (n = 11), the cORRs were 58%, 54%, and 46%, respectively. Among patients with (n = 16) and without (n = 16) brain metastases at baseline, the cORRs were both 63%.
Among patients treated at the 2.5-mg/kg dose (n = 39), the cORR was 59%. Of patients who had received 2 prior lines of therapy (n = 14) or at least 3 prior lines of therapy (n = 25), the cORRs were 71% and 52%, respectively. Among patients with prior chemotherapy-free intervals of 90 days or longer (n = 18), less than 90 days (n = 17), and less than 30 days (n = 8), the cORRs were 56%, 65%, and 63%, respectively. Among patients with (n = 12) and without (n = 20) brain metastases at baseline, the cORRs were 50% and 75%, respectively.
“ABBV-706 has manageable safety and promising efficacy in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory SCLC, with most patients receiving durable clinical benefit, including those patients with platinum-refractory disease,” lead study author Lauren A. Byers, MD, emphasized in the presentation.
Byers is a professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology in the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
What Data Have Been Previously Shown With ABBV-706 in SCLC?
SEZ6 is a type I transmembrane protein and neuroendocrine lineage marker that is highly expressed in SCLC. It has a proprietary topoisomerase 1 payload, a stable linker attachment, and a drug-to-antibody ratio of 6.
Previously, data from the phase 1 study (NCT05599984) showed that ABBV-706 monotherapy elicited a median DOR of 6.37 months (95% CI, 4.4-9.46) and a median PFS of 7.62 months (95% CI, 5.52-8.31) in patients with SCLC and neuroendocrine carcinomas (n = 65).2,3 The present analysis expanded on these findings in patients with SCLC.1
What Is the Design of the Phase 1 Trial Investigating ABBV-706 in Relapsed/Refractory SCLC?
This phase 1 trial enrolled patients at least 18 years of age with histologically or cytologically documented extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) who had received at least 1 prior line of therapy with at least 1 platinum-based chemotherapy regimen. Patients also needed to have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 and at least 1 measurable lesion per RECIST 1.1 criteria. Patients with prior untreated or treated stable brain metastases were permitted to enroll. Patients were excluded if they had received prior therapy with SEZ6-targeted ADCs or ADCs with a topoisomerase 1 payload.
During the dose-escalation portion, patients with ES-SCLC, high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms, or central nervous system tumors received ABBV-706 at doses ranging from 1.3 mg/kg to 3.5 mg/kg (n = 60). Following dose escalation, in the dose-optimization portion, patients with SCLC were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive ABBV-706 at 1.8 mg/kg or 2.5 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks in 21-day cycles until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
The primary end points included safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and identification of the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). Antitumor activity end points included investigator-assessed ORR, duration of response (DOR), and progression-free survival (PFS); overall survival (OS); and clinical benefit. Exploratory end points included SEZ6 expression by immunohistochemistry, as well as the identification of pharmacodynamic and predictive biomarkers.
What Were the Baseline Characteristics of the Dose-Optimization SCLC Population in the Phase 1 Trial Investigating ABBV-706?
In the total SCLC patient population, at baseline, the median age was 65 years (range, 48-85), 55% of patients were male, 80% of patients had an ECOG performance status of 1, and 35% of patients had brain metastases. Patients had received a median of 2 prior lines of systemic therapy (range, 1-6), and 63% of patients had received at least 2 prior lines of systemic therapy. Chemotherapy-free intervals lasted at least 90 days, less than 90 days, and less than 30 days in 38%, 51%, and 24% of patients, respectively; this information was missing for 11% of patients. A total of 29% and 4% of patients had previously received prior topoisomerase 1–directed chemotherapy and tarlatamab-dlle (Imdelltra), respectively. Additionally, 75% of patients had received prior anti-PD-(L)1–directed therapy.
At a data cutoff date of January 3, 2025, 12 and 10 patients were ongoing treatment in the 1.8 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg arms, respectively. Fifty-eight patients discontinued treatment due to progressive disease (1.8 mg/kg arm, n = 20; 2.5 mg/kg arm, n = 22), treatment-emergent adverse effects (TEAEs; n = 6; n = 5), death (n = 9; n = 9), and withdrawal of consent (n = 3; n = 0). The median treatment durations in these respective arms were 6.21 months (range, 0.7-10.9) and 5.52 months (range, 0.7-11.3). The median follow-ups were 9.0 months and 8.3 months, respectively.
What Additional Efficacy Data Were Seen in the Dose-Optimization Phase?
In the total population, the median DOR was 5.6 months (95% CI, 4.2-6.9). Among patients who received ABBV-706 as their second line of therapy and those with a chemotherapy-free interval of less than 30 days, the median DORs were 6.9 months (95% CI, 3.2-7.1) and 5.7 months (95% CI, 2.8-7.5), respectively. Overall, among patients who received the agent in the second-line setting or later, only 1 did not respond to ABBV-706 on the first scan.
Treatment with ABBV-706 led to rapid responses at both tested dose levels. In the 1.8 mg/kg cohort, the median DOR was 6.2 months (95% CI, 4.2-not evaluable [NE]) overall, 6.9 months (95% CI, 3.0 months-NE) among patients treated in the second-line setting, and 6.2 months (95% CI, 2.8-NE) among patients with a chemotherapy-free interval of less than 30 days.In the 2.5 mg/kg cohort, the median DORs in these respective populations were 4.4 months (95% CI, 3.5-6.9), 5.2 months (95% CI, 2.7 months-NE), and 5.0 months (95% CI, 3.2-7.0).
In the overall population, the median PFS was 5.7 months (95% CI, 4.9-7.0); the median PFS was 6.8 months (95% CI, 4.4-8.4) in the second-line population and 5.7 months (95% CI, 3.9-7.5) in the population of patients with a chemotherapy-free interval of less than 30 days. OS data were immature at the time of the presentation; however, the estimated 9-month OS rate was 0.6% (95% CI, 0.5%-0.7%).
The median PFS was longer in the 1.8 mg/kg cohort compared with the 2.5 mg/kg cohort, at 6.8 months (95% CI, 4.0-8.2) vs 5.6 months (95% CI, 4.4-7.0). The median PFS also trended toward further improvement in the second-line setting with the lower dose, at 7.5 months (95% CI, 4.0-8.4) vs 5.4 months (95% CI, 2.8-NE), respectively. Among patients with a chemotherapy-free interval of less than 30 days, these respective values were 7.0 months (95% CI, 2.0-NE) and 4.4 months (95% CI, 2.2-7.0). The estimated 9-month OS rates in these respective arms were 0.6% (95% CI, 0.4%-0.7%) and 0.6% (95% CI, 0.4%-0.7%).
“The ABBV-706 efficacy profile in terms of ORR, DOR, and PFS is similar to that of the first-line standard of care (platinum-etoposide-checkpoint inhibitor) even if given in a later line of treatment,” Byers and coauthors wrote in the presentation.
What Is the Safety Profile of ABBV-706?
In the total population, any-grade treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) were reported in 90% of patients. Grade 3 or higher TRAEs and serious AEs occurred in 63% and 14% of patients in the 1.8 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg groups, respectively. TRAEs led to dose interruption, reduction, and discontinuation in 44%, 28%, and 9% of patients in these respective patient populations. At a median follow-up of 8.4 months, the median treatment duration was 5.8 months (95% CI, 0.7-11.3), and the relative dose intensity was 92%.
Overall, Byers noted that the safety profile of ABBV-706 was more favorable at the 1.8-mg/kg dose vs the 2.5-mg/kg dose, including fewer grade 3 or higher TRAEs, dose interruptions, and dose reductions. In the 1.8 mg/kg arm, any-grade TRAEs, grade 3 or higher TRAEs, and serious AEs were reported in 85%, 49%, and 17% of patients, respectively, as opposed to 95%, 77%, and 10% of patients, respectively, in the 2.5 mg/kg arm. TRAEs led to dose interruption, reduction, and discontinuation in 24%, 20%, and 10% of patients, respectively, in the 1.8 mg/kg arm vs 64%, 36%, and 8% in the 2.5 mg/kg arm. The relative dose intensities in these respective arms were 99% vs 85%.
Hematological AEs were dose dependent. In the 1.8 mg/kg arm, the most common hematological TEAEs included anemia (any-grade, 54%; grade ≥ 3, 42%), neutropenia (27%; 20%), thrombocytopenia (22%; 20%), and leukopenia (17%; 5%). In the 2.5 mg/kg arm, TEAEs rates were as follows: anemia (any-grade, 74%; grade ≥ 3, 62%), neutropenia (44%; 31%), thrombocytopenia (41%; 23%), and leukopenia (26%; 21%).
The most common nonhematologic TEAEs in the 1.8 mg/kg arm were fatigue (any-grade, 42%; grade ≥ 3, 5%), nausea (37%; 0%), decreased appetite (20%; 2%), and dyspnea (29%; 2%). In the 2.5 mg/kg arm, the rates of these TEAEs were as follows: fatigue (any-grade, 44%; grade ≥ 3, 5%), nausea (36%; 2%), decreased appetite (46%; 2%), and dyspnea (23%; 8%).
Furthermore, any-grade adjudicated interstitial lung disease (ILD) was reported in 7 patients, including 4 in the 1.8 mg/kg arm and 3 in the 2.5 mg/kg arm. Two patients in each arm had grade 3 or higher ILD.
“ABBV-706 provides high response rates, quick tumor shrinkage, and rapid symptomatic relief,” Byers and study coauthors wrote in the concluding slide of the presentation.
Based on the benefit-risk profile of ABBV-706, 1.8 mg/kg every 3 weeks was determined to be the RP2D for the agent as monotherapy in patients with SCLC.
References
Byers LA, Cho BC, Cooper AJ, et al. Safety and efficacy of ABBV-706, a seizure-related homolog protein 6–targeting antibody-drug conjugate, in R/R SCLC. Presented at: International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer; September 6-9, 2025; Barcelona, Spain. Abstract OA06.04.
Chandana SR, Choudhury NJ, Dowlati A, et al. First-in-human study of ABBV-706, a seizure-related homolog protein 6 (SEZ6)–targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), in patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors. J Clin Oncol. 2024;43(suppl 16):3001. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.3001
Cooper A, Chandana S, Furqan M, et al. Safety and efficacy of ABBV-706, a seizure-related homolog protein 6 (SEZ6)–targeting antibody-drug conjugate, in high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms. J Clin Oncol. 2025;43(suppl 16):105. doi:10.1200/JCO.2025.43.16_suppl.105
A Dutch court has upheld a preliminary attachment over Gazprom’s shares in a North Sea oil producer, which were frozen by a Ukrainian energy company seeking to enforce a US$267 million investment treaty award.
To read more
Subscribe to Global Arbitration Review
Register for limited access
Register for free to receive GAR’s daily briefing and access to GAR 100.
Register now
Subscribe to unlock unlimited access
Get news, unique commentary, expert analysis and essential resources from the Global Arbitration Review experts.
You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.
A type of brain cell that plays a vital role in maintaining neural networks and repairing injuries lies at the core of a promising new on Alzheimer’s disease.
These cells are called microglia. To understand how they function, picture the vintage ’80s video game Pac-Man and the iconic character gobbling up everything in its maze-like path. In this case, however, it’s not tiny ghosts being devoured, but harmful proteins.
“Microglia are immune cells in the brain and they are scavengers,” says Gopal Thinakaran, endowed chair of the University of South Florida Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Center and Research Institute.
“They play an important role in clearing up debris in the brain. And they also have a very important role in Alzheimer’s disease.”
Microglia multiply as needed—think millions of Pac-Men and Ms. Pac-Men roaming neural pathways—to keep the brain debris-free.
“Imagine the brain as a bustling city, full of nerve cells or neurons, sending important messages back and forth,” Thinakaran says.
“Microglia are like the city’s sanitation crew, emergency responders, and even urban planners, all rolled into one. These tiny cells, making up about 10% of the brain, are incredibly important for keeping the city running smoothly and adapting to change.”
Microglia are constantly sending out feelers or projections to monitor the brain’s environment, searching for any signs of trouble, like infection, damage, or unwanted debris. And when they find it, they transform from their resting state to an active blob-like shape and engulf, in classic video-game style, harmful substances.
However, in aging individuals with diseased brains, microglia have a more difficult time keeping up with the garbage removal. Eventually, they succumb to the chronic pathology that permeates the brain, ultimately becoming sluggish and swollen, laden with oily lipids, and unable to remove fatty deposits of lipids efficiently.
The factors that cause microglia to lose their effectiveness are part of the new study in the journal Nature, with Thinakaran serving as the co-senior author of an investigation done in collaboration with his former colleague Jubao Duan at the University of Chicago and Endeavor Health Research Institute.
The paper shows how a variation in a particular gene, called PICALM, has a profound effect on the microglia. This change in the gene disrupts the microglia, heightening the likelihood of Alzheimer’s developing, explained Ari Sudwarts, co-first author on the paper and a postdoctoral research scholar in the Morsani College of Medicine.
“We made significant progress in understanding the functions of PICALM—the third-most significant risk gene for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Sudwarts says.
“We found that a variant of PICALM affected the immune cells of the brain, reducing their ability to clear debris, and causing a buildup of cholesterol and lipids. Understanding the functions disrupted by a specific risk gene gives new targets for developing pharmaceuticals for patients who have this genetic variant.”
Thinakaran is working to learn more about PICALM and other common genetic variants that also have a profound impact, increasing the risk of developing the disease.
“This is like gene mutations that cause cancer,” he says. “If you have such a mutation, you’re going to pass it on to your kids. There are only about three genes that have that kind of capability for Alzheimer’s disease. All the others are called risk factors—they don’t cause the disease in all people, but they increase one’s lifetime risk.”
He is fascinated by the challenge of figuring out how gene variants affect the disease, as well as how scientists can separate genetic effects from the lifestyle factors known to affect Alzheimer’s risk.
“An individual’s risk in a lifetime becomes different, whether you exercise or not, whether you keep an active lifestyle or you’re highly educated, and many other things,” Thinakaran says. “So it becomes really difficult to narrow down and study genetic impacts.”
But over the last two decades, genetic methods have become more advanced and zeroed in on “hotspots” in genes that increase one’s lifetime risk. One such hotspot is the PICALM gene, which is associated with a risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s.
Much research has focused on the PICALM gene, as well as the PICALM protein it produces, over the past two decades, including that done at the University of Chicago and Endeavor Health Research Institute by Duan. Thinakaran collaborated with Duan on a research grant to further study PICALM-related risk factors and received federal funding in 2019, just after Thinakaran moved to USF.
They oversaw a dual-lab study, involving cultured human-derived brain cells in petri dishes. Over time, this allowed them to gain a greater understanding of molecular changes in PICALM and the resulting increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. They learned that 30% of the population has a certain variant, or allele, of the PICALM gene. Called the “minor allele” of PICALM, it appears to protect people against Alzheimer’s. But they wanted to understand the reason—the mechanism—for that.
When they examined the data in cultured cells, they found the answer lay in the Pac-Men of the brain—the microglia.
“Dr. Duan found that the risk allele in PICALM only showed up in microglia,” Thinakaran says. “So we said, let’s introduce the change in the microglia, adding both the minor allele, which is protected from risk, and the major allele, which is not.”
As a result, they were able to find that the major allele reduces PICALM protein levels in the microglia. Having less PICALM protein damages organelles—functional structures within a cell—that degrade waste proteins called lysosomes. The less effective organelles disturb how proteins and lipids are managed in the cell, ultimately reducing the capacity for microglia to engulf protein material like amyloid and tau in the brain.
“This creates these compact structures called lipid droplets that cause further havoc in a cell, and it impedes the microglia from doing its job,” says Thinakaran. “It’s extremely rare to have a story develop like this, and it took five years to unfold.”
The take-away message?
“Many risks are being identified in microglia,” he says. “And we are giving kind of a roadmap for one risk, and how the process results in lipid dysregulation and how the further accumulation of lipid droplets really starts to make the microglia ineffective. The knowledge we have gained adds one more piece to the Alzheimer’s puzzle we are putting together.”
Stephanie Golik remembers questioning whether she would succeed. Today, she tells her mentees to pursue what feels “truly energizing” and give themselves “permission to figure it out.”
Golik, who graduated from Northeastern University in 2015, has since pivoted her career from architecture to product design and serial entrepreneurship. She previously led a product design team at Cruise, a self-driving car company, and raised $3.5 million for her own startup, Huddle, which she sold in 2024.
Recently, Golik won first prize in the “AI and Technology” category at the 2025 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards for her latest venture, Frontflip — an AI companion for real estate investors.
“We’ve spent the past six or so months really building this product that we’re super proud of,” Golik says. “We’re really trying to build a solid business and product on our own, so getting visibility and a grant is kind of the dream. It helps us get off the ground. It helps us through this next phase without having to get distracted with trying to fundraise right now.”
Frontflip, designed for individual investors interested in real estate, lets users search any U.S. address to instantly see value-creation opportunities. Courtesy photo
The Innovator Awards recognize Northeastern students, graduates and affiliated entrepreneurs seeking to make an impact in fields such as health, technology, sustainability and social innovation. Over the past five years, Women Who Empower has invested more than $1.8 million in the winners as they build and grow their ventures.
Frontflip is designed for individual investors, Golik says, interested in the real estate market. Users can search properties by address across the U.S. and instantly see an at-a-glance report on value creation opportunities.
The AI component pulls unstructured data from multiple sources, Golik says, and turns it into a digestible summary of investment scenarios, including investment advice based on home details and neighborhood trends.
“There’s a million stock tools,” Golik says. “There’s a lot of real estate apps that just help you think about finding properties. But there is none when it comes to accessing the potential return as an investor, without digging for a lot of information.”
Currently available through a website and iOS app, Frontflip offers a free version for checking a limited number of properties and a low-fee subscription that unlocks unlimited reports. Golik says the platform is ideal for investors with between zero and about 50 properties.
Golik’s entrepreneurial spirit has roots in her upbringing. She grew up in Miami in a highly entrepreneurial family — her father founded businesses, she says, and her siblings started ventures from their home.
“I loved all of the creative energy of starting things, but never felt like I was a business person,” Golik says about herself. “I had this disconnect because I was always creative. I was always designing and painting, and felt that my identity was creative, and it took me some time to merge those two things.”
In 2010, she came to Northeastern to study architecture.
“Architecture helped me navigate that also, because architecture is such a creative profession that meets a lot of business constraints,” Golik says. “That’s the intersection that I really enjoy.”
However, doing co-ops in architectural firms revealed she didn’t enjoy the work.
“I found myself not really loving it,” she says. “The Northeastern co-op program helped me figure out for myself that I wasn’t on the exact right career path while I was still in school.”
After graduating, Golik moved to New York City and gave herself six months to either start her own architecture firm or pursue entrepreneurship, which she felt more excited about.
“Part of having the confidence to go and change paths was me coming around to who I am and what I actually like and being confident in that this is what I like, and it’s also what I’m best at,” Golik says. “I’m not the best building designer, but I think I’m really good at figuring out a solution with creative constraints. So that reflection helped me take those six months really seriously.”
She decided she could work at startups to gain experience before starting a company of her own. She found internships and entered her idea into the NYC BigApps contest, a web and mobile applications competition sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corp. Through the contest, she met a developer who helped her build her first app and launch it in the App store.
“I had to create my own portfolio, because no one was going to pay me to design something for them [because] I had no experience,” Golik says.
By the end of the six months, she had landed her first job as a product designer at a startup studio.
Over the next several years, she rose to leadership roles in product and design at companies including Mapfit, a mapping technology firm, and moved to San Francisco in 2018.
In 2021, Golik left her role as product design manager for fleet at Cruise to start Huddle, a fractional talent marketplace connecting companies with part-time or project-based creative and product leaders. She grew the company from the ground up, raising more than $3.5 million in capital before selling it in 2024.
Ten years after graduation, she is still building design-driven businesses and sharing her journey with others. She even developed an online course, “Go from Designer to Founder,” to help aspiring entrepreneurs make the leap from design roles to company building.
“When you find something that’s actually, truly energizing, — you’re excited to go to work, excited to work on it — you should just figure out how to do that,” she says.
Looking back, Golik sees her Northeastern experience as a turning point.
“During my time in Northeastern I was very unsure if I was going to be successful,” she says. “And so to have it [come] full circle, where Northeastern is telling me, ‘You’re successful,’ was really cool.”
