Outdoing Cancer Requires Pharma To Go Beyond Merely Revolutionizing Existing Treatment

Pfizer Inc PFE is among the many pharmaceutical companies that turned to oncology in response to sinking demand for its COVID-19 products and near patent expiration dates for its several top-sellers.

At the end of 2023, Pfizer completed its acquisition of Seagen Inc. SGEN, a biotechnology leader in transformative cancer medicines. Although Pfizer still has a few growth best-sellers, migraine therapy Nurtec and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Pfizer is betting on such big business development deals to boost its annual revenue by close to $25 billion by the end of the decade. Last year, the U.S. FDA also approved Pfizer’s blood cancer therapy. 

But cancer is one of the most complex diseases in human history, a battle that pharma still hasn’t won. Pfizer made it its mission to outdo cancer, so did its COVID-19 peer, Moderna Inc MRNA. Moderna is also betting its growth story on revolutionizing cancer treatment. Also at the end of 2023, Moderna revealed new trial data that showed that combining its cancer vaccine with a standard treatment for melanoma significantly reduces the risk of death and recurrence of the most-deadly type of skin cancer. Along with another pharma giant Merck & Co Inc MRK, Moderna not only developed the mRNA-based cancer vaccine for melanoma, but also tested it in combination with Keytruda, an FDA-approved cancer treatment that Merck developed. Back in 2022, the trial showed that two years after the treatment, the combo lowered the high-risk patients’ risk of recurrence or death by 44% compared to treatment of Keytruda alone. Before 2023 ended, Merck and Moderna proudly confirmed these results, with the newest trial data showing even greater durability of their combined therapy. Three years after the treatment, patients who received the Moderna and Merck vaccine and immunotherapy drug were 49% less likely to experience recurrence or death compared to patients who were only treated with Keytruda. Moreover, the combo group was also 62% less likely to experience distant metastasis or death. Now, Moderna and Merck are also going beyond melanoma as they entered phase 3 trial to test their cancer vaccine in patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer.

As optimistic as these findings are, they refer to late-stages of the world’s deadliest disease. Moreover, they merely succeded in lowering the risk of the worst possible outcome and recurrence. Fortunately, smaller players, like Mainz Biomed N.V. MYNZ are making breakthroughs in early diagnostics that has even more life-saving potential. 

Mainz Biomed is a molecular genetics diagnostic company specialized in solutions for early cancer detection. Moreover, it just announced an exciting partnership with one Europe's leading online retailer for medical products for its flagship product, a colorectal cancer screening test, ColoAlert®.

Mainz Biomed and Praxisdienst 

Through a distribution partnership with Praxisdienst, Germany’s largest online retailer for medical products, Mainz Biomed continues its mission of enhancing the quality of healthcare. Through Praxisdienst that won a Top Innovator award in the Medical Technology-Online shops category, Mainz Biomed increased the availability of ColoAlert® and overall CRC screening that is usually done through colonoscopy that no patient will describe as a convenient nor non-invasive experience.

With its convenient and non-invasive at-home stool test that utilizes advanced technology to identify tumor DNA, it’s no exaggeration to say that Mainz Biomed revolutionized the screening of colorectal cancer with ColoAlert® that facilitates an early diagnosis, which in turn greatly improves the success of treatment. Last year, Mainz Biomed also revealed clinical trial data that showed the test has also a high sensitivity to detect advanced adenoma. This colorectal polyp is a known precursor to CRC, and therefore, its diagnostics can be game-changing in this scenario. By joining forces, Mainz Biomed and Praxisdienst will undoubtedly positively impact healthcare standards in Germany, making CRC screening more accessible. 

Pharma needs to go beyond merely revolutionizing existing cancer treatment. 

Revolutionizing cancer treatment goes far beyond finding the cure for the world’s leading cause of death. Early screening, and better yet, prevention, are just as important, if not more, when it comes to changing the odds in the cancer battle.

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