Equity Insider News Commentary
Issued on behalf of Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2025
/PRNewswire/ -- 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.
CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Oncolytics Biotech
at:
https://equity-insider.com/2025/03/18/is-oncolytics-biotech-the-markets-most-undervalued-cancer-opportunity/
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.
Source:
https://equity-insider.com/2025/03/18/is-oncolytics-biotech-the-markets-most-undervalued-cancer-opportunity/
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