Why Cancer Treatment Innovation Matters

1 August 2026

Cancer remains one of the world’s greatest health challenges. In 2022, an estimated 20 million people worldwide were diagnosed with cancer, while 9.7 million people died from the disease. Around one in five people is expected to develop cancer during their lifetime.

Behind these numbers are millions of patients, families and healthcare professionals facing the same fundamental challenge: how can we treat cancer more effectively while reducing the burden that treatment itself can place on the body?

At OncoLize, we believe that answering this question requires continued innovation in cancer treatment.

The challenge of treating cancer

Cancer is not one disease. It encompasses hundreds of different tumor types, each with its own biological characteristics, treatment challenges and response to therapy.

Over the past decades, major advances have been made in surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted treatments. These developments have improved outcomes for many patients. Yet significant challenges remain, particularly for aggressive and difficult-to-treat tumors such as Pancreatic Cancer, Liver- Bladder and Stomach cancer, Ovarian cancer and Lung Cancer.

One of the fundamental challenges is how to deliver a sufficient amount of an anti-cancer drug to the tumor without exposing the rest of the body to unnecessarily high levels of the same drug.

Many chemotherapy drugs are administered systemically, for example through intravenous infusion or oral medication. Once administered, the drug circulates throughout the body. Only a small part of the total dose may reach the intended tumor, while healthy tissues and organs are also be exposed.

This can limit how much treatment can safely be given to a patient.

Why localized cancer treatment could make a difference

What if treatment could be concentrated where it is needed most?

Localized drug delivery aims to do exactly that: deliver a therapeutic agent directly to a tumor or other target tissue, rather than relying entirely on the bloodstream to transport the drug to its destination.

This approach could potentially create a much higher concentration of a drug at the tumor site while reducing exposure elsewhere in the body.

For certain solid tumors, this could be particularly relevant. Many tumors can be approached using a needle, catheter or endoscope, creating opportunities to deliver treatment directly into the tumor.

The concept is relatively simple. The challenge lies in developing a formulation that can be injected easily, remain where it is delivered and release its active drug over an appropriate period of time.

From injection to localized drug depot

This is the principle behind the ChemoGell™ platform developed by OncoLize.

ChemoGell™ is a polymer-based, thermo-responsive hydrogel designed to create a localized drug depot inside the tumor.

The formulation is injected in liquid form through a thin needle, catheter or endoscope. Once inside the body, the liquid rapidly forms a soft hydrogel depot within seconds.

The depot then remains localized and gradually releases the loaded oncology drug over time.

This creates a fundamentally different way of thinking about drug delivery: instead of allowing the drug to circulate throughout the body and hoping that enough reaches the tumor, the drug is placed directly at the site where it is intended to act.

Making better use of existing cancer drugs

Another important aspect of the OncoLize approach is the use of well-known oncology drugs.

Many established chemotherapy drugs are already understood, widely available and relatively affordable. The challenge is not necessarily that these drugs do not work. In many cases, the challenge is how they are delivered.

By combining established drugs with a localized drug-delivery platform, OncoLize aims to explore whether their therapeutic potential can be improved through a different route of administration.

Preclinical studies with ChemoGell™ formulations containing drugs including Gemcitabine, Paclitaxel and Cis-Platinum, as well as a proprietary peptide, have demonstrated the potential of the platform using different types of therapeutic compounds.

The platform is also designed to accommodate a broad range of drug characteristics, from small molecules to peptides and from poorly soluble to highly soluble compounds.

A particular focus on pancreatic cancer

OncoLize’s primary focus is pancreatic cancer, one of the most challenging solid tumors to treat.

Pancreatic tumors are often difficult to diagnose at an early stage and can be challenging to reach with conventional systemic therapies. This makes pancreatic cancer a compelling area in which to investigate new approaches to localized treatment.

In preclinical research conducted in collaboration with Leiden University Medical Center, OncoLize’s ChemGem™ formulation, based on the ChemoGell™ platform and containing Gemcitabine, demonstrated promising results in a pancreatic tumor model.

The research showed growth arrest and 100% survival in the specific preclinical model studied, without observed adverse effects. In a part of the studies, the Immune system was also activated, whereby ‘cold’ tumors switch to ‘hot’ meaning that immune cells engage in the attack on the tumor cells. These results are encouraging, while further development and clinical research are required to determine how the approach performs in humans. These results were recently published in the Journal for Drug Delivery and Translational Research. See also this link: 

Towards a new generation of cancer treatment

Localized drug delivery is not intended to replace every existing cancer treatment. Instead, it could become another tool in the oncologist’s toolbox.

ChemoGell™ drug depots could potentially be used alongside existing treatments, before or after surgery, or in combination with other approaches such as immuno-oncology and radiotherapy.

The platform is also designed with practical considerations in mind. Its formulations use pharmaceutical-grade, bio-erodible polymers and can be manufactured using standard mixing and compounding processes. This could support scalable production and potentially make localized drug formulations accessible beyond highly specialized manufacturing environments.

For OncoLize, the long-term goal is clear: develop cancer treatments that are more effective at the tumor site, while reducing unnecessary exposure of the rest of the body.

Innovation needs investment

Transforming a promising technology into a clinically available cancer treatment requires more than scientific innovation. It requires extensive research, development, manufacturing, regulatory work and clinical trials.

OncoLize is now advancing its technology towards clinical development, with pancreatic cancer as its primary focus.

The company is preparing for the next stage of development and is opening the opportunity for investors to become part of this journey.

If you believe that innovative drug-delivery technologies can play an important role in the future of cancer treatment, you can learn more about the OncoLize investment opportunity through our investors page.

A different way to deliver cancer treatment

The future of cancer treatment may not only depend on discovering new drugs. It may also depend on finding better ways to deliver the drugs we already have.

By localizing treatment directly inside tumors, OncoLize is working towards a new approach to cancer drug delivery: more treatment where it matters, and less exposure where it shouldn’t.

The journey from preclinical research to patient treatment is still ahead. But with the ChemoGell™ platform, OncoLize aims to take the next step towards more localized, precise and potentially more effective cancer treatment.