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Program notes — EHA 2026

Internal pre-meeting working file. Tracks, Presidential Symposium preview, expected LBAs, watch list, key dates. Status: ~1 month pre-meeting (as of May 11, 2026). Regular abstracts release tomorrow (May 12, 15:30 CEST). Nearly everything below is speculative until then; flagged inline.

Key dates

Date Event Notes
Mar 1, 2026 Abstract submission deadline (passed) 23:59 CET — regular abstracts
May 4, 2026 Early-bird registration deadline (passed)
May 7, 2026 LBA submission deadline (passed) 09:00 CEST
May 11, 2026 Today — T-1 day to abstract release Pre-meeting prep window closes tomorrow
May 12, 2026 Regular abstracts available online 15:30 CEST — HemaSphere supplement release; full abstract corpus goes public
Jun 1, 2026 Regular registration deadline
Jun 2, 2026 Late-Breaking Abstracts released 15:30 CEST
Jun 11, 2026 (Thu) Meeting opens Opening + first oral abstract sessions
Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) Day 2 Major oral sessions; Plenary Abstracts
Jun 13, 2026 (Sat) PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM The practice-changing slot. ~6–8 abstracts.
Jun 14, 2026 (Sun) LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACTS + closing Second high-priority slot
Jun 14, 2026 Late (in-person) registration deadline
Jun 15, 2026 onward Post-meeting recap window EHA Learning Center on-demand; ASCO Post / OncLive recaps run through July
Jun 30, 2026 Virtual (late) registration deadline Last day to register for on-demand access
Dec 12–15, 2026 ASH 2026 EHA-first readouts get ASH-update tags

Sources: EHA 2026 home, Details and deadlines.

Note on dates: EHA 2026 is confirmed June 11–14, 2026 in Stockholm per the EHA official site as of May 11, 2026.

Venue

Stockholmsmässan, Massvägen 1, 125 30 Älvsjö, Stockholm, Sweden. Sweden's largest exhibition and congress centre, ~10 km south of Stockholm city centre, served by Älvsjö commuter rail station (~10 min from T-Centralen). Hybrid format: in-person + EHA virtual / Learning Center. ~15,000+ attendees expected. Stockholm last hosted EHA in 2013; the venue rotates among Vienna, Madrid, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Milan, Copenhagen on the EHA circuit.

The Stockholm venue gives the Karolinska Institutet / Karolinska University Hospital investigator network local-host prominence — relevant for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (Karolinska is a senior European HSCT center), gene therapy for sickle cell / beta-thalassemia (Karolinska is a Casgevy authorized treatment center), and MDS (the Nordic MDS Group has strong Karolinska representation).

Scientific Program Committee Chair

Prof. Meritxell Alberich Jorda — Institute of Molecular Genetics, Prague, Czech Republic. Leukemia / hematopoiesis researcher. (Source: EHA 2026 official details page.)

Presidential Symposium — Saturday June 13, 2026

The Presidential Symposium is EHA's practice-changing slot. The 2026 slate is not yet announced (typical announcement window: late May 2026 alongside or just after the abstract release). Per the EHA-standard pattern, expect 6–8 abstracts:

  • 3–4 phase 3 practice-changing readouts in malignant heme (typically split: 1 DLBCL/lymphoma, 1 myeloma, 1 AML or CLL, 1 MDS or other).
  • 1 cell-and-gene-therapy abstract (typically CAR-T durability or gene-edited sickle cell European experience).
  • 1 non-malignant heme (hemophilia gene therapy, sickle cell, or red cell biology — typically rotating).
  • 1 mechanistic / translational study (the "best translational science" slot).

All abstracts are flagged *expected, subject to embargo* until the abstract drop on May 12 / June 2.

Track shortlist — most-loaded tracks

Lymphoma (DLBCL, FL, MCL, CLL, T-cell)

The single largest disease axis at EHA.

  • DLBCL bispecifics — 1L combinations + 2-yr durability interim. Epcoritamab (EPCORE NHL-2 / -3 / -5 interim), glofitamab (SKYGLO interim, SUNMO / STARGLO long-term), mosunetuzumab (FL → DLBCL extensions). EHA frequently hosts the interim readout; ASH 2026 (Dec) gets the longer follow-up.
  • frontMIND interim. Tafasitamab + lenalidomide + R-CHOP in 1L DLBCL high-IPI. ASCO 2026 LBA7000 PFS+ likely; EHA reconciles the European subset; ASH 2026 long-term update expected.
  • POLARIX 5-yr OS update. Pola-R-CHP vs R-CHOP in 1L DLBCL — long-term durability data point.
  • CLL — pirtobrutinib + venetoclax fixed-duration European cohorts. BRUIN CLL-321 European subset; GAIA / CLL13 (German CLL Study Group) follow-up; FLAIR (UK NCRI) long-term; MAJIC.
  • Mantle cell + indolent. MCL pirtobrutinib / brexu-cel long-term; FL mosunetuzumab + lenalidomide; FL CAR-T (axi-cel ZUMA-5 European cohort).

Myeloma

Second largest disease axis. Bispecific / CAR-T crowd.

  • CARTITUDE-4 long-term + CARTITUDE-5 / -6 interim (J&J/Legend cilta-cel frontline pivots) — the frontline CAR-T moment, EHA interim.
  • KarMMa-3 long-term + KarMMa-9 interim (BMS ide-cel) — parallel frontline pivot interim.
  • MajesTEC-3 / -5 interim (J&J teclistamab combinations) — bispecific + dara / pom / len frontline pivots interim.
  • MonumenTAL-3 interim (J&J talquetamab pivotal).
  • RedirecTT-1 / -2 (dual bispecific BCMA + GPRC5D in EMD MM) — class watch.
  • IFM 2020-02 / HOVON-MM — European cooperative-group frontline MM. IFM is a load-bearing European MM voice.
  • Allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T (Allogene, Caribou, others) — manufacturing / off-the-shelf class watch.

The dominant clinical question across the track: sequencing — bispecific-after-CAR-T vs CAR-T-after-bispecific; multiple European real-world registries (EBMT, IFM) will speak to it.

Acute leukemias

  • AML menin (revumenib, ziftomenib) post-approval European. Both approved late 2024 / 2025 (FDA + EMA in 2025). Real-world European + combos with ven/aza, FLT3i, IDHi. Frontline pivots interim.
  • AML maintenance — European cooperative groups. HOVON-AML and GMLL maintenance studies (venetoclax post-induction + others).
  • FLT3, IDH frontline. Gilteritinib, quizartinib, ivosidenib, enasidenib, olutasidenib — frontline + maintenance pivot interim. EMA-relevant.
  • B-ALL CAR-T European. GRAALL adult ALL pivot; brexu-cel European real-world (EBMT registry); pediatric updates.

MDS / MPN

  • Imetelstat post-IMerge European real-world (lower-risk MDS TI). Nordic MDS Group cohort prominent given Stockholm venue.
  • Luspatercept frontline ESA-naive European (COMMANDS long-term European subset).
  • IDH inhibitors in MDS (Servier).
  • Myelofibrosis — momelotinib, pacritinib post-approval European; selinexor combos.
  • IPSS-M-guided transplant decisions in the EBMT registry — load-bearing European data on MDS frontline transplant.

Cell-and-gene therapy axis (cross-cutting)

EHA shares this story with ASH but adds the EU regulatory and access layer.

  • CAR-T 4–5-yr durability European cohorts. EBMT registry data on axi-cel (Kite), liso-cel (BMS), cilta-cel (J&J/Legend), ide-cel (BMS/2seventy). Real-world durability + SPM signal.
  • Gene therapy for SCD — European real-world. Exa-cel / Casgevy (Vertex/CRISPR) and lovo-cel / Lyfgenia (bluebird) European treatment-center early experience. EMA approval status; Karolinska is an authorized treatment center. Pediatric data.
  • Beta-thalassemia gene therapy. Casgevy + ex-betibeglogene long-term European TI data — EHA's traditional strength on TDT.
  • In-vivo gene editing for SCD. Beam, Editas, Verve, Prime Medicine pipelines. Class watch — early-phase.
  • Hemophilia gene therapy — European durability. Roctavian (BioMarin val-rox) and Hemgenix (CSL etranadez) 2–4 yr European FVIII / FIX expression curves.

Non-malignant heme

EHA strength. Proportionally larger than at ASH.

  • Hemophilia non-factor agents. Mim8 (Novo, FVIIIa-mimetic post-FRONTIER), concizumab (Novo), fitusiran (Sanofi) — bleed-rate pivots and long-term European cohorts.
  • Red cell biology. Mitapivat in SCD and thalassemia (RISE UP, ENERGIZE follow-up); etavopivat in SCD (HIBISCUS pivot update).
  • PNH. Pegcetacoplan, iptacopan, danicopan — C5 vs C3 inhibitor head-to-heads / combinations.
  • iTTP / TTP. Caplacizumab + rituximab follow-up European cohort.
  • Thrombosis & hemostasis. Factor XI inhibitors (abelacimab, milvexian, asundexian) — post-OCEANIC / LIBREXIA / OCEANIC-AF data. Cross-link to cardiology readouts at ESC Aug 28–31, 2026.

Anticipated big readouts — top 5 (for the index report)

  1. Bispecifics in DLBCL — 1L combinations + 2–3 yr durability interim (EPCORE NHL-2 / -3 / -5; SKYGLO interim glofit-Pola-R-CHP).
  2. Bispecifics + CAR-T in MM — MajesTEC-3 / -5 and MonumenTAL-3 interim; CARTITUDE-4 long-term; RedirecTT dual bispecific in EMD.
  3. Gene therapy for SCD + beta-thalassemia — Casgevy and Lyfgenia European real-world + pediatric pivots (Karolinska / Nordic data prominent given Stockholm venue).
  4. AML menin + IDH + maintenance — European real-world. Revumenib + ziftomenib post-approval European cohorts; HOVON / GMLL maintenance; IDH frontline EMA-relevant pivots.
  5. CLL — pirtobrutinib BRUIN CLL-321 European subset + GAIA/CLL13 + FLAIR long-term. European cooperative-group CLL dominates the track.

(Honorable mentions / runners-up: hemophilia gene-therapy 2–4 yr European durability curves; mitapivat / etavopivat SCD red cell biology; PNH C5 vs C3 inhibitor head-to-heads; EBMT CAR-T durability registry.)

Discussant watch list

EHA discussants and Presidential Symposium chairs are typically announced ~2–3 weeks pre-meeting (so by ~late May). Names to expect / track (based on prior-year EHA patterns and European disease-group seniority, not yet confirmed for 2026):

  • DLBCL / lymphoma: Catherine Thieblemont (Saint-Louis, Paris), Martin Hutchings (Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen), Pier Luigi Zinzani (Bologna), Hervé Tilly (Rouen / LYSA), Franck Morschhauser (Lille / LYSA), Marie José Kersten (Amsterdam / HOVON), David Cunningham (Royal Marsden).
  • Myeloma: Maria-Victoria Mateos (Salamanca / GEM), Philippe Moreau (Nantes / IFM), Hervé Avet-Loiseau (Toulouse / IFM), Pieter Sonneveld (Erdoş / HOVON), Heinz Ludwig (Vienna), Martin Kaiser (Royal Marsden), Sonja Zweegman (Amsterdam / HOVON).
  • AML: Hartmut Doehner (Ulm / GMLL), Charles Craddock (Birmingham), Gerwin Huls (Groningen / HOVON), Bob Loewenberg (Erdoş / HOVON), Jan Cools (KU Leuven), Andrew Wei (Walter+Eliza Hall).
  • CLL: Barbara Eichhorst (Cologne / GCLLSG), Carsten Niemann (Copenhagen), Anna Schuh (Oxford), Paolo Ghia (Milan / San Raffaele), Talha Munir (Leeds / NCRI), Peter Hillmen (Leeds / NCRI).
  • MDS: Uwe Platzbecker (Leipzig), Pierre Fenaux (Saint-Louis, Paris), Valeria Santini (Florence), Eva Hellström-Lindberg (Karolinska — local host), David Bowen (Leeds), Sanam Loghavi (MDACC, occasional EHA).
  • CAR-T / cellular therapy: Marion Subklewe (Munich / LMU), Pere Barba (Vall d'Hebron), Anna Sureda (ICO Barcelona / EBMT), Per Ljungman (Karolinska — local host, EBMT), Catherine Bollard (Children's National, occasional EHA).
  • Gene therapy for SCD / thalassemia: Selim Corbacioglu (Regensburg), Annarita Migliaccio (Tor Vergata), Maria Domenica Cappellini (Milan), Stephan Lobitz (Cologne), Mariane de Montalembert (Necker, Paris).
  • Hemophilia gene therapy: Wolfgang Miesbach (Frankfurt), Flora Peyvandi (Milan), Pratima Chowdary (Royal Free, London), Cedric Hermans (Brussels).
  • Red cell biology: Ali Taher (AUB / Lebanon), Maria Domenica Cappellini (Milan), Achille Iolascon (Naples), John Porter (UCL).

All names above are pre-confirmation guesses based on prior-year EHA patterns. Reconcile against the official program once chairs and discussants are posted.

What's speculative vs. confirmed

Confirmed (sourced and dated, May 11, 2026): - Meeting dates: June 11–14, 2026 (EHA official) - Venue: Stockholmsmässan, Älvsjö, Stockholm, Sweden + hybrid virtual - Abstract submission deadline: Mar 1, 2026; regular abstracts release May 12, 2026, 15:30 CEST - Late-breaking abstracts: submission deadline May 7, 2026; release June 2, 2026, 15:30 CEST - Registration deadlines: early-bird May 4 (passed); regular Jun 1; late Jun 14; virtual-late Jun 30 - Scientific Program Committee Chair: Prof. Meritxell Alberich Jorda (IMG, Prague)

Speculative — flag before publishing: - Presidential Symposium slate (announced ~late May) - LBA slate (released June 2) - All anticipated readouts above are inferred from company pipelines + AACR 2026 mechanism sessions + ASCO 2026 heme subset (May 29 – Jun 2) + prior-year EHA / ASH patterns. No EHA 2026 abstract content yet exists publicly until tomorrow (May 12). - Discussant identities (watch list above) - Practice-changing verdicts pending ESMO / EHA guideline updates and EMA / CHMP filings

ASCO 2026 reconciliation (immediate pre-meeting)

ASCO 2026 is May 29 – Jun 2, 2026 in Chicago (~3 weeks before EHA, ~2 weeks after the EHA abstract release). Several heme trials read out at ASCO and update at EHA within the same fortnight. Watch list:

  • frontMIND LBA7000 (Incyte / MorphoSys, 1L DLBCL tafa+lena+R-CHOP) — ASCO LBA, EHA reconcile expected.
  • MajesTEC-3 (J&J teclistamab) — ASCO + EHA parallel coverage.
  • CARTITUDE-5 (J&J/Legend cilta-cel frontline MM) — ASCO + EHA parallel.
  • DLBCL bispecific 1L combinations (epco-R-CHOP, glofit-Pola-R-CHP) — ASCO + EHA parallel.

Tag these trials as *ASCO 2026 readout, EHA 2026 update expected* in trials/.

ASH 2026 forward-projection (post-meeting)

Whatever lands at EHA 2026 sets the December framing for ASH 2026. Tag each EHA trial with the expected ASH 2026 follow-up readout in the Cross-links section of the per-trial page (e.g., "EHA 2026 phase 3 interim → ASH 2026 long-term OS update expected"). Carry the EHA-first reads into ash-2026/trials/ as stubs once populated.

Dead ends (for now, T-1 day pre-abstract-release)

  • Full abstract text, session times, hall assignments: abstract release is tomorrow (May 12, 15:30 CEST). Do not fabricate; wait <24 hours.
  • Presidential Symposium slate: announced ~late May. Cannot fabricate.
  • LBA slate: released June 2. Cannot fabricate.
  • Speaker slide decks / data figures: not pre-released by EHA. Only available via EHA virtual / Learning Center (paid registration) or post-presentation press coverage.
  • AACR 2026 cross-links specific to EHA-presenter overlap: requires post-presentation reconciliation; will populate during the Jun 11–14 live window.