Biotechnology is revolutionizing the present and future of the fight against cancer

Cancer stands as the leading cause of death worldwide. According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, approximately 18.1 million new cases were diagnosed in 2020. Projections indicate that this figure will increase over the next two decades, surpassing 28 million cases by the year 2040.

Currently, 30-50% of cancer cases could potentially be prevented by reducing risk factors and implementing prevention-based strategies, early detection, and ensuring appropriate care and treatments. Cancer is a complex disease that poses significant challenges, for which biotechnology provides answers through innovative tools and approaches such as immunotherapy, gene therapy, the study of mRNA and its potential application in vaccines, nanotechnology, liquid biopsy, the development of specific biomarkers, and CAR-T cells, among others.

Sixty-three percent of AseBio's pipeline research (350 research lines from national and multinational companies with subsidiaries in Spain) is dedicated to finding a treatment for cancer. Furthermore, 28% of disease diagnostic products developed by our partner companies are targeted towards cancer.

Biotechnological Innovation in Early Cancer Diagnosis

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the need to advance in early detection and screenings. Amadix is a biomedicine company specializing in the early detection of cancer through liquid biopsy. "Liquid biopsy in blood and other fluids breaks conventional barriers by providing a less invasive option to aid in the diagnosis and management of cancer patients," explains Lourdes Planelles, scientific director of Amadix. Their work is based on the identification of biomarkers in the blood that are specific signals of the presence of cancer and even premalignant lesions.

"We use technology that is currently available in most hospitals and clinical laboratories. And most importantly, we can identify early signs of cancer, allowing for a better prognosis and sometimes anticipating the disease," adds Planelles. The biotech company has developed PreveCol, a blood test for detecting colorectal cancer. Currently, they are working on solutions for other types of cancer where there is a need for early diagnosis, such as lung cancer (DiagnoLung) and pancreatic cancer (PancreaDix).

Biotechnology Drives Drug Discovery in Oncology

Pharmamar decided to explore marine environments in search of new therapeutic compounds to address unmet medical needs, as 75% of the sea is still unexplored, and its biodiversity is much greater than that of terrestrial ecosystems.

Since its establishment in 1986, they have collected over 400,000 macro and microorganisms from the sea (the world's most extensive collection) and invested over one billion euros in R&D. In the specific field of oncology, their primary focus, the biotech company allocated 81% of its R&D investment resources in 2022 (68.1 million euros).

"This approach of dedicating the majority of resources to research has already borne fruit, as we have a success rate of 37%. Out of 8 compounds in trials, we have had 3 approvals, compared to the pharmaceutical sector's 10%," state representatives from Pharmamar.

The Role of Biotechnology in the Development of New Therapeutic Options Against Cancer

Over the past few years, oncological treatments have exponentially evolved towards personalized, molecular, and precision medicine. As explained by Oryzon, a leading European biopharmaceutical company in the development of epigenetics-based drugs, "conventional high-toxicity chemotherapy is gradually being replaced by treatments that target specific key elements in the propagation of a specific tumor."

They emphasize that the understanding of the immune response to cancer "has allowed the development of monoclonal antibodies such as ICIs, which are successfully used in multiple tumors. Antibodies are also used to specifically target drugs to the tumor, preserving healthy tissue (ADCs). The epigenetics of LSD1 and other targets serve to deactivate tumor pathways, causing the differentiation of cancerous cells or making them visible to the immune system."

Oryzon has an inhibitor of the epigenetic target LSD1, called iadademstat, which has demonstrated efficacy in their ALICE study on patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), even in groups that respond poorly to current therapies, such as those with mutations in p53, K-Ras, or patients with myelomonocytic AML.

Biotechnology and the Future of the Fight Against Cancer: the Study of Genetics

Genetic studies play a crucial role in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of cancer, enabling a more precise and personalized approach for each patient. Genetic studies allow the identification of genetic predisposition, customization of treatments, more accurate prognoses, and the identification of genetic and molecular biomarkers that can serve as therapeutic targets or indicators of treatment response.

In a scenario where telomere length has been associated with a higher risk of certain types of cancer, Life Length is the only company in the world capable of measuring critically short telomeres. "We have developed an imaging-based technology that allows us to see each telomere of all cells. This technology is called HT-Q-FISH, or high-capacity quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization. We use a fluorescent probe complementary to the repetitive DNA sequence that makes up telomeres, visualizing and quantifying them with a powerful confocal microscope," they explain.

"The company has conducted extensive research in the oncology field with European funding, focusing on prostate, lung, and leukemia cancers. The results obtained in the context of prostate cancer have led to the development of the ProsTAV® medical device as a diagnostic tool for this type of cancer," concludes Life Length.