The oncology treatment market has been experiencing significant growth due to various factors like the rising incidence of the disease, advancements in treatment modalities, personalized medicines, investments in research and developments, development in immunotherapy, growing healthcare infrastructure in emerging markets and collaborations between pharmaceutical companies and research institutions.
In this regard, investors can keep a tab on the likes of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN, Merck & Co. MRK, Novartis NVS and AstraZeneca AZN. These players have mademeaningful contributions in cancer treatment and the ability to generate huge business out of it.
Inside theOncology Market’s Huge Business Potential
Oncology spending is forecast to nearly double to $375 billion by 2027, per data from IQVIA Oncology Link, dated April 2023. The spending is forecast to grow materially across all types of cancers. According to Precedence Research, the global oncology market is expected to witness a CAGR of 8.8% from 2023 to 2032. Oncology, more than the rest of biotech, increasingly involves novel trial design.
There is 100% increase in the number of new drugs approved for oncology from the year 2010 to 2021, per FDA data , quoted on Tema ETFs. FDA new drug approvals for Oncology in 2021 were the highest at 31%, followed by 10% for central nervous system and 8% for infectious diseases.
Not only this, with more growth in the cards, the investment opportunity has significantly expanded over the past decade due to a substantial rise in the number of newly listed oncology companies. There has been a boom in oncology-listed companies in the past decade. Moreover, nearly 25% of small biotech trade below net cash value, as quoted on Tema ETFs' document.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few stocks that could be tracked to tap the immense investing potential in the oncology space.
Stocks in Focus
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN)
Tarrytown, NY-based Regeneron is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of treatments targeting serious medical conditions. Most recently, the company announced that the European Medicines Agency accepted to review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for its pipeline candidate odronextamab.
Odronextamab is an investigational CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody designed to bridge CD20 on cancer cells with CD3-expressing T-cells to facilitate local T-cell activation and cancer-cell killing. The MAA is seeking approval of the candidate to treat adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) or R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have progressed after at least two prior systemic therapies.
The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an upbeat Momentum Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Merck & Co. (MRK)
The Zacks Rank #3 Merck & Co. boasts more than six blockbuster drugs in its portfolio, with PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounting for around 46% of its pharmaceutical sales.
Keytruda has played an instrumental role in driving Merck’s steady revenue growth in the past few years. Keytruda may be Merck’s biggest strength and a solid reason to own the stock. The stock has a moderate Value and Momentum Score of C each.
Novartis (NVS)
Switzerland-based Novartis has one of the strongest and broadest portfolio of oncology drugs and generics, which has enabled it to maintain its dominant position as a top pharma company over the years. It continues to build depth in five core therapeutic areas (Cardiovascular, Immunology, Neuroscience, Solid Tumors and Hematology), strength in technology platforms (Targeted Protein Degradation, Cell Therapy, Gene Therapy, Radioligand Therapy and xRNA) and has a balanced geographic footprint.
Novartis’ efforts to strengthen its wide and deep oncology portfolio by developing breakthrough treatments has made it even more formidable in this space. The Zacks Rank #3 stock has upbeat Value and Growth Score of B each.
AstraZeneca (AZN)
The Zacks Rank #3 AstraZeneca plc, headquartered in London, UK, is one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in the world.AstraZeneca’s business can be broken down into separate lines based on therapeutic classes. These include cardiovascular, respiratory, immunology, oncology, rare diseases and other.
Just a month ago, AstraZeneca’s management said that the company is "very encouraged" by interim data from a key lung cancer drug trial. The stock has an upbeat Value score of B.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
