Oncology continues to push the boundaries – of both science and HTA

This year’s #ESMO2026 (23-27 Oct) will once again showcase the cutting edge of medical science – bringing excitement for life science enthusiasts and more importantly, hope to increasing numbers of patients. Antibody-drug conjugates continue to be a hot topic, expanding into earlier lines of therapy, new tumour types and biomarker-low populations. Pan-RAS inhibitors are also prominent, now targeting multiple mutated versions of the RAS family of proteins that drive tumour growth in a range of hard-to-treat cancers including lung and pancreatic. And bispecific antibodies, already proven in haematological cancers, are now entering solid tumour trials. Combinations of proprietary drugs continue to push efficacy forward, but at increased cost.

The affordability of new cancer therapies, often given sequentially over multiple years, will continue to challenge health systems everywhere. Conversely, this year’s ESMO program also includes sessions on strategies for treatment de-escalation in selected patients, guided by tumour biomarker profiles or liquid biopsies (i.e. blood tests) for circulating tumour DNA.

What do these trends mean for HTA? Rapid expansion of next-generation therapies into earlier lines and broader, biomarker low populations increases payer concern about incremental benefit, toxicity burden and budget impact. Uncertainty about optimal positioning in sequential treatment pathways and multiple indications adds complexity to pricing, modelling and decision-making, and requires strategic indication planning. There is likely to be even greater scrutiny of the choice of comparator, with trial comparators increasingly out of step with clinical practice due to the ever-expanding range of options. Indirect treatment comparisons are becoming increasingly complex for the same reason, while in Europe, JCA brings its own specific challenges.

At Newmarket Strategy and Visible Analytics we are committed to exploring cutting-edge economic modelling and statistical techniques to help address these complexities – but only if they add value over and above standard methods and have a strong enough rationale to be accepted by payers. Our technical, strategic and communications experts seek to guide clients through this challenging environment to achieve market access. It’s an exciting world and we love being part of it!

Our team will be at ESMO in Madrid – do reach out if you would like to talk to them (Link to event)