Billions Flowing into Cancer Immunotherapy as Market Responds to Impressive Market Potential

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group  -  Within the grand battle against cancer, the use of immunotherapy continues to grow at incredible rates. According to Precedence Research, the global cancer immunotherapy market is set to grow at a CAGR of 12.6% to a whopping $277.1 billion by 2030. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, precision medicine is at the heart of immunotherapy, however a recent survey of precision oncology programs showed that the rapid pace of advances have caused a major challenge for oncologists. Momentum in the immunotherapy segment continues to draw plenty of investment and interest into the work of developers, including Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ONCY) (TSX:ONC), Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS), Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY), Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) and BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE).

Among the up-and-coming treatments that made significant advancements in 2021 was pelareorep, the flagship immunotherapeutic agent of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ONCY) (TSX:ONC). According to the company's official pipeline, multiple studies are being conducted to test pelareorep in combination with some of the sector's highest-selling cancer drugs to treat various forms of cancer, including breast cancer, gastro-intestinal cancer, and multiple myeloma.  

Opening 2022, Oncolytics Biotech put out a letter to shareholders, which highlighted how breast cancer patients treated with pelareorep witnessed a more-than-doubling of overall survival in metastatic HR+/HER2- in IND-213—as seen from study results delivered in 2017.

Laid out in the letter, Oncolytics expressed its focus on three achievable objectives for pelareorep put in place by regulators and the company's pharma partners, representing important steps towards a registrational study.

These were: 1. Confirming that pelareorep works through an immunotherapeutic mechanism of action; 2. Determining whether pelareorep synergizes with immune checkpoint inhibitors; and 3. Identifying a biomarker to select patients who are likely to have better clinical outcomes.

In the letter, Dr. Matt Coffey, President & CEO of Oncolytics Biotech, wrote: "I am pleased to report that we are well on our way to achieving these three objectives."

The first two objectives were shown to be achieved back in April 2021, when Oncolytics presented cohort data from its AWARE-1 study, being conducted with Roche.

Late in the year, at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), Oncolytics presented a positive safety update from its IRENE Phase 2 Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of pelareorep in combination with Incyte's anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor retifanlimab for second- or third-line treatment of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Safety data from the trial showed the combination was well-tolerated, with no safety concerns noted in any of the patients enrolled in the trial at the time of reporting.

"Prior clinical studies have shown that pelareorep upregulates tumor PD-L1 expression and reverses immunosuppressive TMEs," said Mridula George, M.D., Medical Oncologist, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and principal investigator of the trial. "These findings suggest that pelareorep can address a pressing unmet need in TNBC by synergizing with PD-1 inhibition to increase the proportion of patients responding to therapy. We look forward to evaluating this hypothesis through the IRENE study's continued advancement and are pleased that the pelareorep-retifanlimab combination has been well-tolerated in each of the patients enrolled in the trial."

The IRENE study remains ongoing and will continue to enroll patients at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) recently announced a licensing agreement with precision medicine company OncXerna Therapeutics, Inc. to bring its Xerna TME Panel lab services to more US patients.

Now through the agreement Exact Sciences can provide more critical answers to cancer patients and physicians facing difficult therapy selection decisions while supporting biopharma partners in patient selection for their therapeutic programs.

"As the role of immunotherapy in cancer treatment grows, a critical unmet need among oncologists and healthcare professionals is being able to predict a patient's response to specific drugs prior to starting treatment," said Matt Franklin, general manager of Precision Oncology for Exact Sciences. "The immunotherapy prediction ability of OncXerna's Xerna TME Panel, coupled with the comprehensive profiling capabilities of Exact Sciences' GEM ExTra test, has the potential to significantly impact patient outcomes."

In the second half of December 2021, Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY) announced the acquisition of privately held Amunix Pharmaceuticals and its cancer immunotherapy technology in a deal said to be worth $1 billion. Among the assets acquired in the deal Sanofi is set to add a promising pipeline of T-cell engagers and cytokine therapies with lead candidate AMX-818 expected to enter the clinic in early 2022.

"The Amunix technology platform utilizes a next generation smart biologics to precisely tailor-deliver medicines to become active only in tumor tissues while sparing normal tissues, thus bringing the promise of more effective and safer treatment options for cancer patients," said John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Sanofi's Global Head of Research & Development. "We are excited to rapidly advance Amunix's promising pipeline and to combine their innovative candidate medicines with complementary molecules in Sanofi's immuno-oncology portfolio."

During that same week in December, Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) signed a deal with BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE) for the development of an immunotherapy cancer treatment for up to $1 billion. As per the terms of the agreement, Novartis is making a $300 million upfront payment to BeiGene to add a drug, named ociperlimab, to its pipeline. After that, a fee of up to $700 million would also be paid to BeiGene in case the option part of the agreement is excercised prior to late 2023.

Less than a month later, Novartis had signed another agreement with BeiGene, this time to in-license tislelizumab from the company in major markets outside of China, in a bid to accelerate the potential for Novartis to enter the large and growing checkpoint inhibitor field.

"This agreement expands on our strategy as the only company pursuing four different approaches to treating cancer: targeted therapy, radioligand therapy, cell and gene therapy, and immunotherapy," said Susanne Schaffert, PhD, President, Novartis Oncology. "No other company has this range of therapeutic approaches, and the opportunity to combine them to offer the best outcomes for each patient."

Tislelizumab is approved by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) as a treatment for certain patients with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma and metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

For more information go to:  https://usanewsgroup.com/2020/02/24/why-biotechnology-companies-are-so-important/ 

Article Source: 

USA News Group
http://USAnewsgroup.com
[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). MIQ has been paid a fee for Oncolytics Biotech Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. which were purchased in the open market, and reserve the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ has been approved by Oncolytics Biotech Inc.; this is a paid advertisement, we currently own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. and will buy and sell shares of the company in the open market, or through private placements, and/or other investment vehicles.

While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

USA News Group is Source of all content listed above.  FN Media Group, LLC (FNM), is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with USA News Group or any company mentioned herein.  The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by USA News Group are solely those of USA News Group and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM.  FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers.  FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.  FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Media Contact Information:
FN Media Group, LLC
Media Contact e-mail:  
[email protected] 
U.S. Phone: +1(954)345-0611

SOURCE USA News Group