3 Cancer-Focused Stocks Showing Strong Pipeline Progress

An updated edition of the Sept. 8, 2025, article.

The global cancer treatment market is entering a transformative phase, driven by rising cancer incidence and rapid scientific progress. According to the American Cancer Society, the United States alone is projected to report 2.04 million new cancer cases and over 618,000 deaths in 2025. An aging population and lifestyle-related risks are increasing global cancer prevalence, pushing healthcare systems toward higher oncology spending.

Meanwhile, innovation is transforming the way cancer is managed. Advances in immunotherapies, targeted drugs and personalized vaccines have expanded options well beyond traditional chemotherapy and radiation. Immune-based approaches — such as checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T therapies, therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic viruses — train the body’s own defenses to fight tumors. Targeted therapies focus on specific genetic mutations, improving precision and reducing side effects, while personalized cancer vaccines represent a major step forward in precision oncology.

Emerging technologies like genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are accelerating biomarker discovery, refining patient selection, and improving early detection. Though a universal cure remains elusive, survival rates and the quality of life continue to improve across many cancer types, reflecting both scientific advances and earlier diagnosis.

Pharmaceutical companies are responding with aggressive investment. Global leaders — including Novartis, AstraZeneca, J&J, Pfizer PFE, AbbVie ABBV, Merck MRK, Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly LLY — are expanding their pipelines in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, and next-generation immuno-oncology agents. Smaller biotech firms remain key sources of innovation, driving new collaborations, licensing deals and acquisitions as larger players seek novel assets with best-in-class potential.

Continued innovation, favorable reimbursement trends and expanding treatment options position the oncology segment as one of the most attractive and resilient areas for long-term investors.

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 Relay Therapeutics RLAY, Fate Therapeutics FATE and Verastem Oncology VSTM.

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3 Cancer Stocks in Focus

Relay Therapeutics is developing RLY-2608, its lead investigational candidate and a mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor, as a novel medicine for CDK4/6-experienced patients with PI3Kα mutations, where there is a large unmet medical need. In clinical studies, RLY-2608 has shown the potential benefit in improving both the tolerability profile and progression-free survival compared to standard-of-care drugs in this setting. Relay initiated a pivotal phase III study called ReDiscover-2 on RLY-260, in combination with AstraZeneca’s Faslodex for second-line PI3Kα-mutated, HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in the second quarter.

The company is also making progress in its development plans for investigational triplet combinations, which it believes can allow RLY-2608 to address patients in earlier settings.

Relay Therapeutics is also rapidly progressing with the development of other front-line breast cancer regimens while planning for the development of future oral endocrine therapy combinations.

Relay Therapeutics has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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. Fate Therapeutics also has some next-generation iPSC-derived CAR T-cell programs in pre-clinical development. In July, the FDA allowed the company’s investigational new drug (IND) application to begin phase I clinical studies on FT836, its MICA/B-targeted CAR T-cell program. Fate has a Zacks Rank of 2.

Verastem Oncology’s novel combination regimen of avutometinib plus defactinib was approved by the FDA in early May for treating KRAS mutant recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), a rare and distinct type of ovarian cancer. The approval was granted under the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway and is commercialized in the U.S. market as an oral combination co-pack with the two prescription products, known as “Avmapki Fakzynja Co-Pack.” The innovative combination therapy generated $2.1 million in sales in the first six weeks of launch.

Following the FDA approval, Avmapki Fakzynja Co-Pack is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for the LGSOC indication. Per Verastem Oncology, the combo sets a new standard of care for women with recurrent LGSOC with a KRAS mutation.

The company is also evaluating avutometinib plus defactinib in combination studies in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer as well as non-small cell lung cancer in early to mid-stage studies. In May, VSTM reported strong overall response rates from a phase I/II study evaluating avutometinib plus defactinib in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Based on the positive data, VSTM plans to initiate a registrational phase III study in front-line metastatic PDAC in 2026.

This Zacks Rank #2 company also recently announced positive preliminary data from an early-stage study for VS-7375, its KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor in patients with KRAS G12D mutant solid tumors.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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