An updated edition of the April 16, 2025, article.
The global cancer treatment market is transforming rapidly, driven by an increasing demand for more effective, less toxic therapies. As per the American Cancer Society, the United States alone is expected to see 2,041,910 new cancer cases and 618,120 cancer-related deaths in 2025. While advances in early detection and treatment have contributed to a decline in mortality rates for certain cancers, the overall rise in cancer incidence continues to push global healthcare systems toward higher spending on oncology care.
This surge in demand has coincided with groundbreaking advancements in cancer therapeutics. Innovative treatment approaches — including immunotherapy, targeted therapies and personalized cancer vaccines — are reshaping the oncology landscape. Immune-based therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapies, cancer vaccines, and oncolytic viruses, harness the body’s immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. Targeted therapies focus on specific genetic mutations driving tumor growth, allowing for more precise and often less damaging interventions compared to traditional chemotherapy. Personalized cancer vaccines, tailored using an individual’s tumor profile, represent an exciting frontier in precision oncology.
Despite remarkable scientific progress over the past two decades, a definitive cure for most cancers remains out of reach. However, survival rates have improved substantially, and patient quality of life has been enhanced through these next-generation treatments. As cancer prevalence rises worldwide — fueled by aging populations, lifestyle factors, and improved diagnostics — the market for novel oncology drugs and diagnostics is poised for robust growth.
Nearly all major pharmaceutical companies — including Novartis NVS, AstraZeneca AZN, Pfizer PFE, AbbVie ABBV, Bristol Myers BMY and Eli Lilly LLY — are actively developing next-generation cancer therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immuno-oncology agents, which aim to boost treatment effectiveness and enhance patient outcomes. At the same time, numerous smaller biotech firms are making notable strides in cancer research and innovation. As a result, there is growing interest among large drugmakers in acquiring these smaller, more agile companies, particularly those working on novel cancer therapies with unique mechanisms of action that hold promise for delivering superior clinical results compared to current standards of care.
These factors highlight the huge potential for cancer-focused companies. With our thematic screens, you can easily spot stocks tied to trends shaping the future of investing. If the cancer space appeals to you and you’re looking to align your portfolio with this rising trend, now might be the time to consider stocks like Pfizer, Novartis and Fate Therapeutics FATE.
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3 Cancer Stocks in Focus
Pfizer is one of the largest and most successful drugmakers in oncology. The addition of Seagen in 2023 strengthened its position in oncology.
Its oncology revenues grew 7% on an operational basis in the first quarter of 2025, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev. Pfizer has ventured into the oncology biosimilars space and markets six biosimilars for cancer. Pfizer also advanced its oncology clinical pipeline with several candidates entering late-stage development, like sasanlimab, vepdegestrant and sigvotatug vedotin.
In May, Pfizer inked an exclusive licensing deal with China's 3SBio for the latter’s dual PD-1 and VEGF inhibitor, which will strengthen its oncology pipeline.
Pfizer is also working on expanding the labels of approved oncology products like Padcev and Adcetris.
Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Novartis has a diverse oncology portfolio, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
The FDA’s approval of Kisqali, its CDK4/6 inhibitor for the first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with HR+/HER2 advanced or metastatic breast cancer, significantly boosted the company’s oncology portfolio, with the drug now being one of the top growth drivers for the company. In particular, Kisqali has shown robust uptake in the metastatic breast cancer setting. The recent approval of a broader label for Kisqali in the United States and the EU should further fuel its sales.
Other new oncology drugs like Pluvicto (PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer) and Scemblix (chronic myeloid leukemia) have also put up a stellar performance, setting the momentum for the coming years as well. Novartis’ oncology sales rose 24% in constant currency terms to $3.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
This Zacks Rank #2 company is also investing in research to develop treatments for both common and rare cancers, focusing on precision medicine strategies.
Fate Therapeutics is focused on developing and manufacturing universal, off-the-shelf cell products using its proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform. Its immuno-oncology pipeline includes iPSC-derived natural killer cells and T-cell product candidates.
Fate Therapeutics is co-developing FT825/ONO-8250, a multiplexed-engineered, iPSC-derived CAR T-cell product candidate, with ONO Pharmaceutical. It is conducting a phase I study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics and activity of FT825/ONO-8250 in patients with advanced solid tumors.
To date, treatment with FT825/ONO-8250 has shown a favorable safety profile with no dose-limiting toxicities. Zacks #2 Ranked Fate Therapeutics also has some next-generation iPSC-derived CAR T-cell programs in pre-clinical development.
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