Oncology Innovation Just Hit a Turning Point -- Here's What to Watch

Cision Canada

5 days ago

VANCOUVER, BC, June 30, 2025 /CNW/ -- USA News Group News Commentary – The oncology landscape is being pulled in two directions. On one hand, U.S. cancer death rates continue to decline. On the other, global cases are expected to rise sharply —while early-onset diagnoses in younger patients are climbing at a troubling pace. At the same time, proposed federal budget cuts threaten to slash funding for the National Cancer Institute by up to 40%, raising concerns about the future of publicly funded research. With public resources under pressure, much of the innovation burden is shifting to the private sector, where a new generation of biotechs is stepping up—including Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRB), Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTS), Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY), and Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERAS).
Industry analysts now estimate the global oncology drug market could surpass US$900 billion by 2034, fueled by rising demand for precision diagnostics and immune-driven treatments. For investors, the sector represents a timely opportunity to support the next wave of cancer-fighting innovation.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC) has further strengthened its executive team with the appointment of Andrew Aromando as Chief Business Officer, signaling an intensified focus on business development and strategic partnerships.
Aromando brings more than 30 years of biopharma experience and—alongside recently appointed CEO Jared Kelly—previously played a central role in Ambrx Biopharma's $2 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. His arrival marks a leadership pivot aimed at unlocking value from pelareorep through late-stage development and corporate activity.
"Andrew's experience will be invaluable as we pursue aggressive clinical and business development strategies to maximize the value of pelareorep on an accelerated timeline," said Kelly. "He is a proven industry leader with a successful track record of navigating complex transactions and partnerships and an outstanding addition to our executive team."
In his new role, Aromando will lead global business development and help shape the company's corporate, clinical, and regulatory strategies. Among his top priorities will be optimizing the value of pelareorep's clinical data across multiple tumor types, including pancreatic, breast, and anal cancers.
"I'm thrilled to join Oncolytics at such a pivotal moment in its evolution," said Aromando. "With promising data in difficult-to-treat cancers and a compelling body of clinical evidence in over 1,100 patients, I believe the Company is uniquely positioned to deliver meaningful value to patients and other stakeholders in the near term."
Aromando has held senior leadership roles at oncology-focused biopharmas and global service firms, with emphasis on strategic planning, portfolio optimization, and product commercialization. He holds a BA from The College of New Jersey and an MA from Rutgers University.
Kelly added, "Pelareorep's clinical data across multiple tumors is striking and represents the potential for a true backbone immunotherapy to address many in-need indications. The data show pelareorep creates a robust immune response in hard-to-treat cancers and improves survival in populations where prior therapies have failed."
Together, Kelly and Aromando are spearheading a strategy to advance pelareorep through late-stage development while maintaining capital discipline and strategic flexibility. The program continues to yield data supporting its potential across a range of aggressive cancers.
Pelareorep currently holds FDA Fast Track designation for two indications— metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) and HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (mBC) —underscoring regulatory interest in the program.
Across clinical trials, the viral-based immunotherapy has demonstrated immune activation, synergy with checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy, and encouraging efficacy in heavily pretreated patients.
In mPDAC, a Phase 2 cohort reported objective response rates (ORR) above 60% in tumor-evaluable patients, well above historical benchmarks. Survival outcomes at two years also exceeded expectations.
In HR+/HER2- mBC, randomized Phase 2 trials (IND-213 and BRACELET-1) showed overall survival trends supporting continued development.
In anal cancer, a Phase 2 cohort combining pelareorep with a checkpoint inhibitor produced partial or complete responses that surpassed historical rates for checkpoint monotherapy—further hinting at pelareorep's broad applicability.
With multiple cohorts progressing in the GOBLET study, including an externally supported pancreatic cancer arm, Oncolytics appears well-positioned to maintain clinical momentum while executing on strategic growth.
Notably, prior to the appointments of Kelly and Aromando, Oncolytics presented new GOBLET data at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, demonstrating pelareorep's ability to activate both innate and adaptive immune responses in metastatic pancreatic cancer.
With compelling clinical evidence and new leadership in place, Oncolytics is moving forward with renewed purpose—advancing its lead asset and aligning operations for future partnership and commercialization opportunities.
In other recent industry developments and happenings in the market include:
Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRB) has entered a multi-year supply agreement with Nusano to secure iodine-125 and actinium-225 for its radiotherapeutic programs. These isotopes will support clinical development and potential commercial needs of CLR 125 for triple-negative breast cancer and CLR 225 for pancreatic cancer.
"Securing a reliable supply of both iodine-125 and actinium-225 is a critical milestone in advancing our targeted radiotherapy programs," said James Caruso, CEO of Cellectar. "This agreement ensures uninterrupted access to these essential isotopes, providing the necessary clinical development supply for our innovative clinical stage programs, including CLR 125 for triple negative breast cancer and CLR 225 for pancreatic cancer."
I-125 and Ac-225 will be produced at Nusano's next-generation radioisotope production facility in Utah.
Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTS) reported that the first patients treated with INT230-6 in its Phase 2 INVINCIBLE-4 trial for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer showed high levels of tumor necrosis after just two injections—prior to beginning standard immunochemotherapy.
"We are excited to see that INT230-6 is achieving meaningful levels of necrosis in patients with evidence of immune activation," said Lewis H. Bender, President and CEO of Intensity. "TNBC Patients who have no live cancer in their tumor or nodes at the time of surgery have a significantly improved event-free survival advantage compared to those who do not have a pathological complete response."
MRI scans revealed substantial necrosis with minimal residual cancer visible, suggesting a promising local tumor response. The study aims to improve pathological complete response rates, which are strongly linked to better outcomes in this aggressive cancer type.
Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY) recently presented new long-term data at ESTRO 2025, showing that its CyberKnife System continues to deliver beneficial outcomes in treating men with prostate cancer. The studies indicate the system's accuracy and precision enable treatment of high-risk disease, as well as recurrent prostate cancer following prostatectomy, with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), expanding access to a non-invasive, short course of care to more men.
"At this year's ESTRO meeting important analyses of real-world evidence (RWE) underscored the benefits of our unique robotic and helical platforms, reaffirming their use as patients' primary care option or along with other modalities such as surgery, chemotherapy or immunotherapy," said Suzanne Winter, president and CEO of Accuray. "Stand out studies focused on the company's CyberKnife System for the treatment of prostate cancer, building on a robust body of clinical data supporting its use and confirming the durability and quality of life after 10 years post-treatment."
Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERAS) has received FDA clearance for an investigational new drug (IND) application for ERAS-4001, a potential first- and best-in-class pan-KRAS inhibitor targeting KRAS-mutant solid tumors.
"Our RAS-targeting franchise continues to meaningfully advance, and now with clearance of our IND for ERAS-4001, we are excited to advance both ERAS-4001 and ERAS-0015 into the clinic ahead of our guidance," said Jonathan E. Lim, M.D., Erasca's Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder. "ERAS-4001 targets multiple KRAS mutations as well as wildtype KRAS but spares HRAS and NRAS, potentially enabling a better therapeutic window relative to pan-RAS inhibitors. We believe these attributes offer a differentiated approach that can overcome treatment resistance to pan-RAS and mutant-selective KRAS inhibitors and address unmet needs for the 2.2 million people diagnosed annually worldwide with KRASm tumors."
The company will evaluate the therapy in its Phase 1 BOREALIS-1 trial, with initial monotherapy data expected in 2026. Preclinical data showed potent activity against multiple KRAS mutations while sparing HRAS and NRAS, supporting a differentiated therapeutic window.
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