Founded: 2009
Headquarter: MAINZ (DE)
Employees: 6,300
2023 Revenues: € 3.819 BN 
Stock Exchange: BNTX

When they founded BioNTech in 2008, oncologists Özlem Türeci and her husband Uğur Şahin intended to leverage their knowledge to develop individualised cancer immunotherapies. Then COVID came along. In January 2020, they decided to pour all of BioNTech’s focus into engineering a coronavirus vaccine using the messenger RNA technology they had been working on to fight cancer. The gamble paid off. By teaming up with the US pharma giant Pfizer, BioNTech designed the first COVID vaccine to be authorised in the United States, Europe and Switzerland in December 2020.

Now that the pandemic has passed, BioNTech is reuniting with its first passion: oncology. In this field, the company is currently conducting 11 clinical trials to prove the efficacy of its messenger RNA vaccines against
various cancers (melanoma, prostate, head and neck, ovarian, lung, colorectal). The biotech firm is planning its first market launch in oncology in 2026 and hopes to obtain approvals for 10 of these cancer treatments by 2030. This should boost BioNTech’s sales, which have been sluggish with the decline in coronavirus cases. In 2023, the company’s revenue totalled €3.82 billion, down from €17.31 billion a year earlier. Most analysts recommend buying shares, which are currently trading at around $100, compared with almost $400 at its peak in 2021.

Founded: 1996
Headquarter: BASEL (CH)
Employees: 78,400
2023 Revenues: $45.4 BN 
Stock Exchange: NOVN

The Basel-based giant continues to make acquisitions in oncology. Since the start of the year, Novartis has completed the acquisition of the German company MorphoSys for 2.5 billion Swiss francs in February, followed by the takeover of US biotech firm Mariana Oncology in May, for an upfront payment of $1 billion and additional payments of up to $750 million contingent on reaching set milestones. These two acquisitions broaden the Swiss company’s already strong portfolio in oncology – a therapeutic area that is central to the company’s strategy.

In 2023, oncology brought in $13.59 billion for Novartis, out of a total revenue of $45.4 billion, making it the group’s most important core therapeutic specialisation, well ahead of immunology ($7.8 billion), cardio-renal and metabolic diseases ($6.4 billion) and neuroscience ($4 billion). Five of the top 10 drugs sold by Novartis come under the area of oncology. And there may be more on the way. At the 60th meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago from 31 May to 4 June, the Swiss giant presented impressive results for one of its drugs in development, Scemblix, for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Most analysts recommend holding Novartis stock.

Founded: 2012
Headquarter: PALO ALTO (US)
Employees: 1,800
2023 Revenues: $336.9 M 
Stock Exchange: GH

Undergoing a coloscopy starting at 50 years old is advised in order to screen for any possible colorectal cancers. But only one out of every three people follow this recommendation, including in countries where it is covered by medical insurance. Why is that? A coloscopy is an invasive, anxiety-inducing exam that requires making an appointment with a doctor. To change the status quo, US biotech firm Guardant Health developed a test called Shield that can screen for colorectal cancers via a simple blood test that detects the presence of circulating tumour DNA.

According to the results of a large clinical trial published on 13 March in The New England Journal of Medicine, Shield was able to correctly identify cancers in 83% of cases, with only 10% of false positives. In theory, that’s sufficient to become the first test of its kind to be authorised by the FDA and covered by Medicare in the United States. This news is attractive to analysts, who recommend buying shares. Especially considering that Guardant already has tests that are approved by the FDA, particularly the Guardant360 CDx, which identifies cancerous markers for breast cancer, allowing doctors to choose the most personalised treatment for each patient.

Founded: 1896
Headquarter: BASEL (CH)
Employees: 100,000
2023 Revenues: CHF 58.72 BN 
Stock Exchange: ROG

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant is still trying to recover from the coronavirus. In 2023, Roche’s revenue shed 7% to 58.72 billion Swiss francs (up 1% at constant exchange rates). The main cause: sales evaporated from the diagnostic kits that had helped to control the pandemic, and the COVID-19 division lost 4.3 billion Swiss francs compared with the previous year.

To make up for it, the company is focusing on oncology. Of Roche’s 10 best-selling medicines in 2023, five are anti-cancer drugs (Perjeta, Tecentriq, Kadcyla, MabThera/Rituxan and Herceptin), and the company has around 60 clinical trials under way in the field, four of which could lead to a market launch in 2024.

In the first half of 2024, oncology sales accounted for almost 40% of Roche’s revenue, at 5.7 billion out of a total of 14.4 billion Swiss francs. The only downside was the decline in sales of three of its flagship cancer drugs (MabThera/ Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin), due to their patent expiry and the introduction of biosimilars. But Roche also has its diagnostics division to offset this performance, which includes many small companies such as Grail, which develops blood tests for multi-cancer early detection (MCED). That’s an advantage over the competition. "Roche, which is the world leader in diagnostics, remains extremely powerful," says Vincent Meunier of Bryan, Garnier & Co. "This company’s ability to innovate, through both in-house expertise and targeted acquisitions, is how it maintains its competitive edge in diagnostics." Most analysts who follow the stock recommend holding Roche shares.

Founded: 1990
Headquarter: SUNNYVALE (US)
Employees: 850
2023 Revenues: $447.6 M 
Stock Exchange: ARAY

Will it soon be time to shine? After difficult years marked by a chronic deficit, a redundancy plan in autumn 2023 and a share price under $2 compared to $20 during the 2007 IPO, California startup Accuray could begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. In the first quarter of 2024, the company saw its revenue reach $101.1 million, up 14% compared to Q1 2023. Its order book is growing as well (+21% over the first three months of the year, or $89.1 million booked). According to Suzanne Winter, CEO of Accuray, the company will reach profitability in financial year 2025, which begins on 1 July 2025. All the analysts who cover the company are intrigued and recommend purchasing shares. However, proceed with caution. "Radiotherapy as an industry is an uphill battle," said an analyst specialising in the pharmaceutical industry. "It is very difficult for small companies to break into the market because it requires significant investments." 

Indeed, Accuray and its 850 employees are up against giants such as US-based GE Healthcare and Germany’s Siemens Healthineers. To differentiate itself, Accuray is focused on two radiotherapy devices: Radixact and CyberKnife, which are seen as more precise than the competition. Currently, more than 1,000 of these devices are used around the world. As the number of in-use products increases, Accuray will grow its recurring revenue (maintenance and training), becoming less dependent on sales. In Q1 2024, services made up 51.2% of the company’s revenue.