Global Pharma Giants Are Betting Big On Oncology But Without Daring To Tackle Cancer Prevention

Oncology is the pharma’s newest shinning star in the post-Covid-19 era. Pfizer Inc PFE prioritized its oncology focus as its newest plan includes the revamping of this department.  Pfizer is targeting as much as 8 blockbuster cancer drugs by the end of the decade. Besides developing an experimental cancer vaccine with Merck, Moderna Inc MRNA even added AI into the equation. Last month, Moderna partnered with Open AI to co-develop as well as advance mRNA medicines. But Moderna and Merck developed a vaccine that does not promise to protect against cancer, as trial results showed it halves mortality rate and lowers risk of relapse in melanoma patients, with these benefits holding up after three years. Moderna and Merck expanded their testing scope with patients suffering from non-small lung cell cancer. 

Under Soriot’s leadership, AstraZeneca PLC AZN has been investing significant funds into R&D that resulted the launch of several blockbuster products, such as top-selling cancer drugs Tagrisso and Imfinzi. During the first quarter, AstraZeneca reported that Tagriso alone brought in $1.6 billion, followed by Imfinzi with $1.1 billion. For the first quarter, AstraZeneca reported revenue grew 19% to $12.7 billlion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $11.9billion, due to the boost from oncology revenues that rose 26%, along with a 45% increase in sales for diabetes and heart failure drug Farxiga that contributed $1.9 billion in sales. But, AstraZeneca just lost the Tagrisso patent case to Pfizer. Pfizer accused AstraZeneca that Tagrisso’s use of kinase inhibitors for cancer treatment infringed on the patented methods used by its breast cancer drug Nerlynx. The jury found that AstraZeneca's Tagrisso did violate Pfizer's Wyeth unit's patent rights. But AstraZeneca is determined to defend itself and its intellectual property with the case set to continue a separate bench trial in June that could potentially overturn the verdict. 

While revolutionizing cancer diagnostics, a much smaller Mainz Biomed MYNZ is set to do something that Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca didn't dare to tackle as they remained in the cancer treatment arena. Mainz Biomed, who was awarded a Poster of Distinction for the results of its groundbreaking study during this year's Digestive Disease Week Washington D.C, is determined to move the needle in cancer prevention.

Mainz Biomed positioned itself well ahead of its planned FDA trial.

During this year’s DDW 2024, Mainz Biomed presented key findings from its eAArly DETECT study, reporting 97% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 82% for advanced precancerous lesions with its groundbreaking test. On its mission to revolutionize existing colorectal cancer screening practices, ultimately reducing mortality rates, Mainz Biomed is basically shifting the focus to prevention cancer altogether. The eAArly DETECT study gathered 21 specialized gastroenterology centers across multiple sites in the United States, enrolling 254 evaluable clinical subjects. By combining Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), along with proprietary mRNA biomarkers, complemented by a sophisticated AI and machine learning algorithm, Mainz Biomed gets to tout around the fact that not only did it create a non-invasive at-home CRC screening test, but also the possibility to detect a pre-cancerous state, advanced adenomas (AA), that are known a well-known precursor to colorectal cancer. With its innovative combination of scientific tools described above, ColoAlert test is able to detect CRC early, as advanced adenomas (AA) and non-advanced adenomas, differentiating them from samples that do not have any pathological findings.

As Bloomberg reported, along with big banks, European pharma giants defied the odds of the decline as sales growth and lower operating costs boosted earnings on the drug front. On the other hand, Reuters reported that AstraZeneca chief, Pascal Soriot warned that Europe is falling behind the US and China when it comes to innovation. Although that maybe the case with European pharma titans, a small molecular genetics diagnostic company from Germany that specializes in the early detection of cancer, certainly defies this claim.

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