Healthcare 4 May 2023 08:00 BST
INDUSTRY NOTE
Precision medicine at heart of cancer care
KEY TAKEAWAY
Despite remarkable developments in cancer therapeutics and diagnostic technologies , cancer remains a major economic and human health burden , with 1 in 2 people in the western world expected to have cancer during their lifetime . We anticipate future improvement in cancer care will be achieved through the application of precision medicine driven by our increasing understanding of cancer biology . Improved existing and new technologies are expected to provide more accurate minimally invasive early diagnosis and guide safer and better personalised therapies . With liquid biopsies providing more accurate early diagnosis and guiding treatment , an expanding array of immune therapies , including vaccines , will be combined with novel radio-pharmaceuticals and ADCs together with better targeted beam radiotherapy and surgery for more effective multi-modal precision medicine . We highlight some key technologies and companies driving progress and creating potential investment opportunities , in our view .
Accurate early diagnosis is key – Many diagnostic and imaging tools are not specific enough for early diagnosis of malignant cancers , often leading to overdiagnosis and unnecessary interventions . Liquid biopsies for early diagnosis should address some of the issues , using a non-invasive test , to screen whole populations from one blood sample and as confirmatory second opinion tests for existing standard-of-care diagnostics .
Companion Dx to guide precision medicine – As therapies are becoming more targeted , diagnostic tests are needed to screen patients to identify the best responders . Companion diagnostic tests are being rapidly approved and are using liquid biopsies to provide a panel of information to clinicians about patient ’ s tumours and how it responds to treatment throughout the patient ’ s cancer journey .
Global adoption of robotic surgery – Robotic surgery is expanding outside of its traditional specialties of urology and gynaecology , facilitating faster patient recovery times and less complications . However , despite patents expiring , Intuitive Surgical remains the dominant player and unless competitors can find a technological edge , they will struggle to disrupt the market .
Precision radiotherapy – Radiotherapy remains a mainstay for early-stage cancer treatment , with advancements such as proton beam therapy offering superior precision for targeting cancer cells while sparring healthy tissue . Smaller footprint machines will drive adoption of proton therapy systems in hospitals .
Radiopharmaceuticals to ride the ADC wave – ADCs have been enjoying the successes as one of the most exciting investment opportunities in the immuno-oncology space with major licensing deals and acquisitions . With the technology similar to ADCs , but instead a targeted delivery of radiation to cells instead of chemotherapy , we predict a wave of interest from big pharma looking to enter this field of precision cancer care .
Combinations with checkpoint inhibitors ; the late-stage standard of care – Immune checkpoint inhibitors are now firmly established as a pillar of late-stage cancer care . Despite their individual success , combination treatments are often required for patients to see the full benefit . Identifying the most promising combination treatments beyond chemotherapy that demonstrates synergy , extends targetable patient populations and without sacrificing safety or tolerability is the challenge . Immutep ’ s lead LAG-3 candidate looks well-placed as an ICI combination therapy .
The cancer vaccine renaissance – Therapeutic cancer vaccines are starting to realise their long-hypothesized potential , with mRNA platforms accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Using a variety of technologies to prime the immune system against tumours , therapeutic vaccines are showing promise in late-stage trials to enhance patient outcomes in combination with blockbuster ICIs .
EQUITY RESEARCH
ALEXANDRA WALSH Junior Equity Research Analyst
T + 44 ( 0 ) 203 859 7725 alexandra . walsh @ goetzpartners . com
DR . CHRIS REDHEAD Research Analyst
T + 44 ( 0 ) 203 859 7725 chris . redhead @ goetzpartners . com
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