$NWBO per Grok - As of August 12, 2026, it has been 966 days since Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBO) submitted the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for DCVax-L to the UK MHRA.
In oncology, what can reasonably be accomplished within 966 days?
In ~966 days (roughly 2 years and 7–8 months), a wide range of meaningful oncology clinical trial work can be completed or substantially advanced.
Here are concrete examples and benchmarks:
Landmark rapid development example
•Osimertinib (Tagrisso) for EGFR T790M-positive NSCLC: First patient dosed in March 2013 → FDA accelerated approval in November 2015. That is approximately 2 years and 8 months (~984 days) from first-in-human dosing to approval. The program included the AURA Phase 1/2 expansion cohorts that generated the response-rate data supporting accelerated approval, plus rapid initiation of the confirmatory Phase 3 (AURA3). This remains one of the fastest modern oncology development timelines from first dose to regulatory approval.
Typical and achievable oncology trial timelines within ~966 days
•Many Phase 1 and Phase 1/2 trials (dose escalation + expansion cohorts in solid tumors): Frequently complete enrollment, determine the recommended Phase 2 dose, and report preliminary efficacy/safety within 18–30+ months. Median Phase 1 durations in broad datasets are often in the 16–40 month range depending on the indication and design.
•Single-arm or randomized Phase 2 trials using objective response rate (ORR), duration of response, or progression-free survival (PFS) as primary endpoints: Commonly finish primary analysis in 2–3 years, especially in molecularly selected populations (e.g., specific driver mutations, MSI-high/dMMR tumors, or rare subtypes). Many basket or precision-oncology Phase 2 studies operate on this cadence.
•Portions of larger Phase 3 programs: Enrollment of several hundred patients, interim analyses, and primary PFS readouts are routinely achievable. Full overall-survival (OS) maturity in aggressive diseases often takes longer, but primary endpoint results and regulatory filings based on surrogate endpoints frequently occur inside or near this window.
•GBM-specific context: Analyses of glioblastoma trials have shown median durations (start to completion) around 32–40 months for Phase 2 studies and similar or modestly longer for Phase 1 and Phase 3 studies—squarely in the range of (or only modestly beyond) 966 days.
What else commonly happens in this timeframe
•Multiple sequential or parallel early-phase studies.
•Protocol expansions, combination arms, or biomarker-selected cohorts added after initial signals.
•Mature follow-up on earlier cohorts (e.g., 2–3 year survival data).
•Manufacturing scale-up, process validation, and supporting CMC packages needed for later-stage work or filings.
•Generation of peer-reviewed publications and data packages that support regulatory discussions or subsequent trials.
Oncology trials (especially those requiring OS endpoints or slow-recruiting populations) can run longer than average, and complexity has trended upward over time. Nevertheless, 966 days is long enough for sponsors to fully execute many early- and mid-stage programs, generate registrational-quality datasets in selected settings, and move candidates meaningfully toward approval—exactly as seen with high-profile examples such as osimertinib.
In short: reviewing one complex MAA package is demanding expert work. Running the clinical trials that generate the evidence packages for multiple oncology programmes is a larger, more resource-intensive body of work by almost any practical measure (people involved, patients treated, data generated, operational complexity, and scientific output).