New Cancer Treatments Spark Hope as Traditional Funding Faces Uncertainty

Cision Canada

01-05-2025

Issued on behalf of Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2025 /CNW/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary – Optimism in the field of oncology is on the rise, thanks to the National Institutes of Health's latest annual report, which showed a steady decline in cancer death rates. However, incidence rates and diagnoses are on the rise, meaning the need for better treatment and earlier screening remains. With potential NIH budget reductions under discussion and new projections indicating that drug tariffs could raise treatment costs by over $10,000, the future of innovation may increasingly depend on private-sector initiatives rather than government support. Several oncology innovators have already delivered notable updates in 2025, among them Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRO), BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: BCTX) (NASDAQ: BCTXW) (TSX: BCT), Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM) and AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN).
In general, cancer incidence is projected to rise significantly, with global cases expected to increase by 20% by 2030 and surge 75% by 2050, according to Statista. In parallel, Precedence Research estimates that the global market for immunotherapy drugs could approach US$1.2 trillion by 2033, supported by a robust 18% compound annual growth rate.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC) just confirmed that it will present new pancreatic cancer data at the upcoming ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, highlighting how pelareorep, its intravenously delivered immunotherapy, activates the immune system to attack tumors in one of the most aggressive and least treatable cancers in oncology.
Pelareorep's unique mechanism of action has garnered attention from key opinion leaders in immunotherapy. During a recent event hosted by H.C. Wainwright, Profs. Martine Piccart and Alexander Eggermont emphasized pelareorep's ability to turn so-called "cold" tumors "hot," potentially enhancing the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors and other cancer therapies in difficult-to-treat cancers like PDAC and HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.
"Pelareorep continues to deliver encouraging results in pancreatic cancer, where few effective treatments exist," said Thomas Heineman, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer for Oncolytics Biotech. "In multiple studies, pelareorep has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to engage the immune system to attack pancreatic cancer tumors, which has the potential to improve outcomes for patients battling this difficult-to-treat cancer."
Oncolytics has repeatedly emphasized that pelareorep works by turning "cold" tumors into "hot" ones, meaning it recruits immune cells into the tumor microenvironment where they're typically absent.
The poster presentation, scheduled for June 2, will showcase results from Cohort 1 of the GOBLET study. This cohort focuses on first-line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where pelareorep is being used in combination with atezolizumab, gemcitabine, and nab-paclitaxel. According to Oncolytics, the data will offer new insights into pelareorep's immune-priming effect and its role in enhancing tumor response in a setting with very limited treatment success historically.
As of its last reported quarter, the company held $15.9 million in cash and recently secured a $20 million flexible equity facility with Alumni Capital, allowing it to raise capital on its own terms over a 15-month period and potentially increasing available capital by nearly 45% of the company's valuation at the time of the announcement. With multiple trials advancing and the ASCO data potentially drawing renewed attention, Oncolytics appears to be entering a period of high visibility and optionality at a critical stage in its development.
This ASCO presentation follows several recent developments in Oncolytics' gastrointestinal cancer program. Earlier this year, the company reported that its GOBLET Cohort 5 had cleared the safety run-in phase and received approval from Germany's Paul-Ehrlich-Institute and the Data Safety Monitoring Board to continue enrolling patients. Notably, Oncolytics is working with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) on this cohort, as they provided a US$5 million grant to fund it.
In breast cancer, the company recently completed a randomized Phase 2 trial called BRACELET-1. In this study, patients treated with pelareorep and paclitaxel outperformed those receiving paclitaxel alone, showing a near doubling in progression-free survival. The company has stated that the data support moving ahead with a larger registrational study, expected to begin later this year. If new results mirror those seen in BRACELET-1, Oncolytics may have the foundation to submit for accelerated approval in this indication.
"With multiple clinical trials surpassing expectations in 2024, 2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for Oncolytics," said Wayne Pisano, Chair of Oncolytics' Board of Directors and Interim CEO in a recent update. "Our top priority is HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer, in which two randomized trials involving over 100 patients have shown substantial clinical benefit for patients receiving pelareorep and paclitaxel compared to paclitaxel monotherapy. We believe that if we can approximate the benefit we saw in BRACELET-1 in our planned registrational study, the progression-free survival benefit alone would support an accelerated approval submission."
In advanced anal cancer, pelareorep is being tested with atezolizumab in another GOBLET cohort. Among the first 12 patients, four showed partial responses and one had a complete response lasting over 15 months. Based on these early outcomes—stronger than what's typically seen from checkpoint inhibitors alone—the company has expanded the cohort to include an additional 18 patients.
With late-stage trials being planned, multiple data readouts on the horizon, and a flexible US$20 million equity facility now in place, the company enters Q2 not just with momentum—but with the financial agility to match it.
In other recent industry developments and happenings in the market include:
Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRO) recently presented encouraging results from its REFRαME-O1 study in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, showing a 32% overall response rate and 96% disease control rate with its antibody-drug conjugate luveltamab tazevibulin (luvelta). The data showed consistent activity across a broader range of FRα expression levels, including patients typically ineligible for other targeted ADCs.
"These data demonstrate the potential for improved patient responses compared to standard chemotherapy in PROC, especially patients whose FRα expression falls within the range of at least 25% to less than 75% 2+, which remains an important unmet medical need," said Dr. Jung Yun Lee, Professor, Gynecologic Oncologist, Yonsei Cancer Center and Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
While Sutro has shifted focus away from internal development of luvelta, the company is actively exploring licensing opportunities to advance the program through external partners.
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: BCTX) (NASDAQ: BCTXW) (TSX: BCT) recently reported a confirmed 100% resolution of lung metastasis in a metastatic HR+ breast cancer patient treated with its personalized, off-the-shelf immunotherapy Bria-OTS in a Phase 1/2a study. The response was sustained at four months, with stable disease elsewhere and no new safety concerns reported.
"This unprecedented anti-cancer response in the first patient dosed with Bria-OTS is an important milestone for us and provides early validation of BriaCell's personalized immunotherapy approach," said Dr. William V. Williams, President and CEO of BriaCell.
Bria-OTS is currently under evaluation as monotherapy in a dose-escalation study for patients with limited treatment options.
Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM) has signed expanded strategic agreements with AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN) and Pathos AI to co-develop a multimodal foundation model in oncology, aiming to accelerate drug discovery and enhance clinical outcomes.
"Generative AI and the emergence of large multimodal models is the final catalyst needed to usher in precision medicine in oncology at scale," said Eric Lefkofsky, Founder and CEO of Tempus. "We look forward to working with AstraZeneca and Pathos to apply AI-enabled solutions to advance therapies in an effort to help patients live longer and healthier lives."
The model will be built using Tempus' vast repository of de-identified data and shared among the three parties to support their respective therapeutic pipelines.
"Cancer drug discovery and clinical development are being transformed by the ability to analyze vast amounts of rich data using artificial intelligence," said Jorge Reis-Filho, Chief AI and Data Scientist, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca. "We are excited to collaborate with Tempus and Pathos to advance our data and AI-driven R&D strategy through the development of a multimodal oncology foundation model that we believe will accelerate and increase the probability of clinical success across our diverse pipeline."
The agreement includes $200 million in data and model development fees and marks a major step forward in Tempus' AI-driven approach to precision medicine. This expansion builds on Tempus' 2021 partnership with AstraZeneca and reflects growing industry momentum around foundation models in cancer care.
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