$668B Oncology Surge: 5 Platforms Cracking the Code on GI Tumors
Issued on behalf of Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
USANewsGroup.com News Commentary
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 30, 2026 /CNW/ -- The global oncology sector is rocketing toward $668 billion in 2034[1], partly fueled by a massive structural pivot toward gastrointestinal cancers where clinical velocity is finally shattering historical benchmarks. With the FDA's 2026 framework explicitly prioritizing accelerated pathways for platforms showing superior objective response rates and durability[2], a select group of innovators is unlocking the immunologically "cold" GI tumors that have baffled researchers for decades. This regulatory tailwind places Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ: VSTM), Perspective Therapeutics (NYSE-A: CATX), and RenovoRx (NASDAQ: RNXT) directly at the intersection of pivotal execution and breakthrough immunotherapy.
As the market charges toward a staggering $668 billion valuation by 2034, capital is rotating aggressively toward execution-ready platforms over speculative assets[3]. Fresh FDA guidance issued in December 2025 and January 2026 signals a decisive new era emphasizing overall survival and robust clinical benefit[4]. This shift creates asymmetric upside for companies demonstrating disciplined execution in high-stakes battlegrounds like colorectal, pancreatic, and anal cancers, where targeted immunotherapies are establishing entirely new treatment paradigms.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) is building out its leadership team as it moves its cancer treatment pelareorep through late-stage clinical trials targeting several gastrointestinal cancers.
The company recently announced two key hires: John McAdory as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Operations, and Yujun Wu as Vice President, Head of Biostatistics. McAdory comes from CG Oncology, where he ran late-stage clinical trials for oncolytic virus therapies (cancer-fighting viruses, similar to pelareorep). Wu joins from Morphic Therapeutic, where he led the statistics department through the company's sale to Eli Lilly, and previously designed multiple Phase 3 oncology trials at Takeda. Both bring the specific expertise needed to execute the complex, multi-country registration trials that determine whether a drug gets FDA approval.
"John's background running complex, late-stage oncology trials makes him exceptionally well-suited to lead Oncolytics' next phase of execution," said Jared Kelly, CEO of Oncolytics Biotech. "As we progress toward pivotal and registration-enabling studies in anal, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers, his experience will be critical to ensuring disciplined execution, speed, and regulatory alignment."
These hires complete a significant management upgrade. Kelly and Chief Business Officer Andrew Aromando both joined from Ambrx Biopharma, which sold to Johnson & Johnson for $2 billion in 2024. The company also added three leading cancer specialists from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center to its gastrointestinal tumor scientific advisory board.
The clinical data driving this expansion looks compelling. In colorectal cancer, pelareorep combined with chemotherapy and a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor achieved a 33% response rate in patients with KRAS mutations (a genetic marker found in about 40% of colorectal cancers). That's three times better than the 6-11% response rate chemotherapy and a VEGF inhibitor typically achieves in these patients. Response rate measures the percentage of patients whose tumors shrink significantly or disappear entirely.
In anal cancer, where treatment options are extremely limited after first-line therapy fails, pelareorep is showing even stronger results. Third-line patients (those who've already failed two prior treatments) saw a 29% response rate with responses lasting around 17 months. That nearly triples the historical benchmarks in a setting where no FDA-approved treatments currently exist.
In second-line patients, the 30% response rate more than doubled the 13.8% benchmark for the only FDA-approved immunotherapy available, with responses lasting 15.5 months versus 9.5 months for standard treatment.
Oncolytics has also secured FDA agreement on its Phase 3 trial design for pancreatic cancer, clearing the way to launch what would be the only immunotherapy registration trial currently planned for this notoriously difficult-to-treat disease.
CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Oncolytics Biotech at: https://usanewsgroup.com/2023/10/02/the-most-undervalued-oncolytics-company-on-the-nasdaq/
In other recent industry developments and happenings in the market include:
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced positive results from Cohort 3 of the pivotal BREAKWATER trial evaluating BRAFTOVI in combination with cetuximab and FOLFIRI in patients with previously untreated BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. The combination achieved a confirmed objective response rate of 64.4% compared to 39.2% with standard-of-care treatment, representing a statistically significant improvement.
"These data further strengthen the potential utility of BRAFTOVI for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. The significant improvement in response rates reflects the meaningful clinical benefit of this targeted combination therapy regimen for patients," said Jeff Legos, Chief Oncology Officer at Pfizer. "These results underscore the potential of BRAFTOVI as a standard of care for patients with this aggressive cancer."
Among patients receiving the treatment regimen, 57.4% on BRAFTOVI plus cetuximab and FOLFIRI maintained response for six months or longer compared to 34.5% with standard therapy. Pfizer continues the BREAKWATER trial with an estimated completion in 2027.
Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ: VSTM) announced it will discontinue its RAMP 203 Phase 1/2 trial in advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to focus resources on clinical development of VS-7375, an oral KRAS G12D inhibitor. The decision reflects the evolving treatment landscape as next-generation G12C inhibitors establish higher response rate benchmarks.
"RAMP 203 has provided important insights into treatment strategies and demonstrated proof-of-concept. While avutometinib plus defactinib combined well with a G12C inhibitor to drive early and sustained anti-tumor responses, next generation G12C inhibitors are establishing a new benchmark with higher response rates," said John Hayslip, Chief Medical Officer at Verastem Oncology. "Accordingly, we are prioritizing our clinical development of VS-7375, a potentially best-in-class oral KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor, that demonstrated a 69% response rate in advanced KRAS G12D NSCLC."
In the doublet combination arm, 30 G12C-inhibitor treatment-naïve patients achieved an overall response rate of 40% with a median progression-free survival of 11.1 months. Verastem Oncology continues advancing RAMP 205, evaluating avutometinib plus defactinib with chemotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Perspective Therapeutics (NYSE-A: CATX) presented updated interim data from its ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial of [212Pb]VMT-α-NET in patients with neuroendocrine tumors at the 2026 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The radiopharmaceutical demonstrated a 39% objective response rate in Cohort 2 patients regardless of SSTR2 expression profile, with 76% of patients remaining progression-free and alive.
"The updated interim results presented at ASCO-GI continue to support VMT-α-NET's compelling overall clinical profile at the 5 mCi dose," said Markus Puhlmann, Chief Medical Officer of Perspective Therapeutics. "With the robust clinical dataset being accrued from strong patient enrollment into our study, we believe we will be able to have meaningful engagement with regulatory agencies during 2026 on proceeding with VMT-α-NET into a registrational trial."
The therapy continues to demonstrate favorable tolerability with no dose-limiting toxicities, treatment-related discontinuations, or clinically significant myelosuppression reported across 56 patients. Perspective Therapeutics has completed the Cohort 3 dose-limiting toxicity assessment and is cleared to enroll additional patients at the 6.0 mCi dose level.
RenovoRx (NASDAQ: RNXT) announced continued commercial momentum with its RenovoCath FDA-cleared drug-delivery device now integrated at nine active U.S. cancer centers, up from five in September 2025. The company's TAMP therapy platform is designed to deliver chemotherapy near tumor sites, potentially enhancing effectiveness while minimizing systemic side effects associated with traditional intravenous administration.
"The growing adoption of RenovoCath by esteemed institutions like City of Hope Cancer Center and Moffitt Cancer Center, amongst others, is the driver of our commercial efforts and underscores the clinical need for more targeted oncology tools," said Shaun Bagai, CEO of RenovoRx. "We are encouraged by both the procedural feedback and the strong commercial interest we are seeing."
The company generated approximately $900,000 in sales revenue through September 2025 and has strengthened its commercial team to drive growth in 2026. RenovoRx continues enrollment in its Phase III TIGeR-PaC trial evaluating intra-arterial gemcitabine delivery via RenovoCath for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
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SOURCES:
- https://www.precedenceresearch.com/oncology-market
- https://lumanity.com/perspectives/the-8-fda-regulatory-trends-shaping-2026-and-beyond/
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/12/02/3198196/0/en/Oncology-Market-Size-Worth-USD-668-26-Billion-by-2034.html
- https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/biologics-guidances/recently-issued-guidance-documents
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