Biotechnology in the fight against cancer: from smart vectors to protein disorder as a therapeutic opportunity

In 2025, 296,103 new cancer cases were diagnosed in Spain, a 3.3% increase compared to 2024, according to the report Cancer Figures in Spain 2025, prepared by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (REDECAN). Estimates included in the report indicate that cancer incidence in Spain will exceed 350,000 cases by 2050. While these figures point to a major challenge, there are reasons for optimism: the growing understanding of cancer biology that has enabled the development of precision oncology will allow the identification of biomarkers in many cases, facilitating the selection of more effective and safer treatments through greater personalization of cancer therapies.

In this context, biotechnology has become an essential pillar. Thanks to advanced tools such as genomics, immunotherapy, bioinformatics, and the development of new diagnostic platforms, it is increasingly possible to identify highly specific biomarkers and transform this knowledge into more effective and safer targeted therapies. This approach not only improves clinical outcomes and patients' quality of life, but also accelerates the adoption of innovation within healthcare systems, opening new opportunities to address cancer in a more early, precise, and sustainable way.

Smart therapeutic vectors that enhance the efficacy and safety of cancer treatments

Examples of these advances can be found at Lifesome Therapeutics, an AseBio member biotechnology company working on a new generation of drug vectors with intrinsic therapeutic properties. While traditional approaches use vectors solely as passive delivery systems to improve solubility, stability, or bioavailability, the Ohmline nanoparticle developed by the company (currently in advanced preclinical stages, with solid in vitro and in vivo results supporting its efficacy, safety, and differentiation from conventional delivery systems) represents a significant breakthrough by incorporating intrinsic therapeutic activity. This feature enables synergistic effects with the encapsulated therapies, allowing treatments to be effective at significantly lower doses and markedly reducing systemic toxicity.

"The size and physicochemical properties of Ohmline facilitate penetration into solid tumors and poorly vascularized regions, where conventional treatments are often less effective. Controlled and targeted drug release reduces exposure of healthy tissues, thereby decreasing adverse effects associated with traditional chemotherapy," Ana Bouchet, CEO of Lifesome Therapeutics, explains to AseBio.

According to Bouchet, this approach "makes a particularly relevant difference in oncology treatments and unmet medical needs where current therapies show clear limitations in efficacy, safety, or durability of response," such as aggressive tumors with poor prognosis, tumors resistant to conventional treatments, patients with low tolerance to chemotherapy, the need for combination therapies, or drug repurposing with oncological potential. She also emphasizes that "Ohmline is capable of delivering treatments to the brain, an organ that is difficult for many drugs under development to access," making it an ideal candidate for treating tumors associated with the central nervous system.

From challenge to opportunity: how protein disorder is driving a new paradigm in cancer therapies

A large portion of the human proteome consists of proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), which remain flexible and dynamic. While this feature allows them to participate in multiple cellular processes, it also makes them difficult to target with traditional drugs. In cancer, many key proteins-including oncogenic transcription factors-exhibit this disorder, regulating gene expression and essential functions such as cell proliferation and differentiation. Their flexible nature makes them a major challenge for conventional treatments and represents one of the great current challenges in biomedicine.

In this context, Nuage Therapeutics, another AseBio member biotechnology company, has developed an innovative technology that enables the study of intrinsically disordered proteins when they transiently adopt more ordered conformations. This technology allows the temporary stabilization of these conformations, making it possible to design compounds that interact with proteins lacking a stable structure. "This approach represents a true paradigm shift in drug discovery, transforming protein disorder-traditionally seen as a limitation-into a therapeutic opportunity for cancer treatment," explains Stuart Hughes, CEO of the company.

In an interview with AseBio, Hughes explains that Nuage Therapeutics' mission is to drive a new generation of precision therapies targeting aggressive cancers that currently have very limited treatment options and where patient survival has barely improved in recent years despite advances in immunotherapy and other treatment modalities. One example is small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a particularly aggressive and highly lethal tumor characterized by rapid proliferation and early metastasis, resulting in a very poor prognosis. The company is also exploring the development of targeted therapies against KLF5, a transcription factor that plays a fundamental role in several gastrointestinal cancers.

The CEO notes that the most advanced program focuses on ASCL1, a key transcription factor in the SCLC-A subtype of small cell lung cancer. Nuage Therapeutics has progressed this project from initial compound identification to series nomination and is currently prioritizing candidates with therapeutic potential while preparing preclinical studies to validate their efficacy. In parallel, the company is developing a second program targeting KLF5, where its technology is beginning to reveal transient conformations, opening the door to the design of the first specific compounds against this tumor regulator. Looking ahead, Nuage Therapeutics aims to advance ASCL1 into advanced preclinical stages, consolidate the KLF5 program, and expand its pipeline with new intrinsically disordered targets, strengthening its technology to lead the development of transformative therapies for aggressive cancers with limited options.

On World Cancer Day, celebrated on February 4, biotechnology demonstrates its key role in transforming oncology. Emerging technologies such as nanotechnology are enabling the development of more precise, effective, and patient-centered treatments, tackling complex and resistant tumors, and personalizing therapy based on each patient's characteristics. At the same time, innovation in molecule design and targeted systems is turning longstanding challenges into real opportunities, opening the door to therapeutic options for tumors that until recently lacked effective alternatives. Together, these approaches show that science and biotechnology not only expand the boundaries of knowledge, but also generate tangible hope for those fighting cancer.