First Fight the Most Aggressive Tumors

7 August 2026

Not every cancer presents the same challenge. Some tumors are particularly difficult to diagnose, reach and treat, and patients with these cancers often face limited treatment options and poor outcomes.

For OncoLize, this is where the journey begins.

The company is initially focusing its development on difficult-to-treat solid tumors, with pancreatic, colon and gastric cancers among the key areas of interest. These tumor types represent significant unmet medical needs and provide an important starting point for developing and testing localized cancer drug delivery.

Why start with difficult-to-treat tumors?

Cancer treatment has advanced significantly, but some solid tumors remain exceptionally challenging.

Pancreatic, colon and gastric cancers can present complex biological and clinical challenges. Depending on the stage and characteristics of the disease, treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapies or combinations of these approaches.

Even with these options, outcomes can remain poor for many patients, particularly when disease is diagnosed at an advanced stage.

For OncoLize, focusing on tumors where there is a clear need for new treatment approaches is a deliberate choice. The company aims to investigate whether localized drug delivery can address some of the limitations associated with systemic treatment.

Pancreatic cancer: the primary focus

Pancreatic cancer is currently the primary focus of OncoLize's development efforts.

The disease is often difficult to detect early and is challenging to treat. By the time pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, the tumor may already be advanced or difficult to remove surgically. In addition, pancreatic cancers develop a thick layer of fibrous tissue around the tumor mass. This layer effectively shields the tumor from the rest of the body and significantly reduces blood-flow through these tumors. That is why systemic dosing of any kind of drug through blood or lymph fluid is rather in-effective in these tumors and requires very high levels of drug dosing, often with severe toxic side effects as well. Finally, direct injections of any kind of liquid will be pushed out through the needle track, as these tumors build up internal pressure over time. 

This makes pancreatic cancer an important setting in which to investigate new ways of delivering 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 alsp this link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13346-026-02187-6

These findings are encouraging, but further research is required before the potential of the approach can be evaluated in human clinical trials.

Colon and gastric cancers

OncoLize is also exploring the potential of its technology in other difficult-to-treat solid tumors, including colon and gastric cancers, liver cancer and invasive bladder cancer.

These tumor types can require complex treatment strategies, particularly when the disease has progressed or spread.

A localized drug-delivery approach could potentially be relevant where a tumor can be reached directly using a needle, catheter or endoscopic procedure.

The ChemoGell™ platform is designed to create a drug depot at the target site, allowing an oncology drug to be released gradually within the tumor environment.

The objective is not to replace existing standards of care, but to explore whether localized delivery can complement current treatment approaches and potentially improve the balance between local treatment effect and systemic exposure.

One platform, multiple potential applications

One of the key characteristics of ChemoGell™ is that it is being developed as a platform rather than a single treatment for a single cancer.

The hydrogel formulation can be combined with different oncology drugs and is designed to accommodate different types of therapeutic compounds.

This creates the possibility of developing multiple localized drug products using the same underlying delivery technology.

The platform has been investigated with established oncology drugs including Gemcitabine, Paclitaxel and Cis-Platinum, as well as a proprietary peptide.

Over time, this could allow OncoLize and its partners to explore additional tumor types and treatment combinations.

Treating the tumor where it is

The rationale behind the platform is straightforward.

When a tumor can be approached directly, treatment can potentially be delivered directly to the tumor rather than relying entirely on systemic circulation.

ChemoGell™ is injected as a liquid formulation and forms a localized hydrogel depot within seconds. The depot remains at the injection site and gradually releases the loaded drug.

Preclinical data generated with the platform indicate that this can result in substantially higher drug concentrations inside the target tissue and much lower exposure outside it in specific animal models.

This localized approach could potentially help address one of the central challenges of cancer treatment: delivering enough drug to the tumor without unnecessarily exposing the rest of the body.

From the most difficult tumors to broader impact

Starting with difficult-to-treat tumors does not mean that OncoLize intends to stop there.

The broader ambition is to develop a technology platform that can be applied across different solid tumor indications.

If the approach proves safe and effective through clinical development, localized drug delivery could potentially be investigated for additional tumor types where direct access to the tumor is possible.

The company's development strategy is therefore focused: start where the unmet need is high, build the evidence, and then explore where the technology can create additional impact.

A focused strategy with a broader ambition

Medical innovation requires focus. OncoLize is concentrating its resources on tumor types where new treatment approaches could make a meaningful difference.

Pancreatic, colon and gastric cancers represent important areas in which to investigate the potential of localized drug delivery.

The next steps include further preclinical development, safety assessments, manufacturing scale-up, regulatory preparation and clinical trial planning.

The ultimate ambition is broader: to contribute to a future in which cancer treatment can be delivered more precisely to the tumor, while reducing unnecessary exposure to healthy tissues.

First fight the most aggressive tumors. Then, if the science and clinical evidence support it, expand the impact to many more.

Learn more

Learn more about OncoLize, its tumor-focused development strategy and the investment opportunity at the investors page.