Pink October 2026 and the move towards more precise cancer care

What do the recent melanoma vaccine results tell us about personalised cancer treatment?

They take personalisation a step further: rather than selecting an existing treatment for a particular patient, the treatment itself is designed specifically for that person. This is a therapeutic vaccine for people who have already been diagnosed with cancer. The tumour’s genetic material is sequenced and an algorithm helps identify targets unique to the patient’s cancer. An mRNA vaccine is then designed to help the immune system recognise those targets and attack the tumour cells carrying them.

In August 2026, Merck and Moderna reported initial phase III trial in people whose melanoma had been removed by surgery. The personalized vaccine, given in combination with the immunotherapy pembrolizumab, improved both recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone.[6].

That is an important step: it is the first positive phase III trial of an individualised neoantigen therapy and shows that it may be possible to create a cancer treatment tailored to the unique mutations of an individual tumour. However, the therapy is not yet approved, and whether the same approach can benefit people with other cancers, requires separate clinical evidence.

AI attracts much of investors’ attention. How is it changing oncology?

AI is increasingly helping researchers and clinicians make sense of the vast amounts of data generated in cancer care, from imaging and pathology to genetic information. 

The personalised vaccine example makes its role tangible: computational tools help turn complex genetic information into a selection of treatment targets.

For investors, however, the next step is to assess not only what AI can do, but whether it leads to better clinical outcomes and creates a sustainable advantage for a company. That means looking closely at the quality of the evidence, how the technology is used in practice, and whether it can ultimately translate into commercial value.

After the recovery in biotechnology, how do you assess valuations?

Healthcare is not one uniform market. Different businesses have different product cycles, growth prospects and valuations. We consider biopharma to be around the middle of its cycle: product launches are supporting growth, while valuations have recovered without reaching levels we regard as excessive. Here, we remain opportunistic, looking for companies where the market valuation appears disconnected from the underlying value of the business, its pipeline or its long-term growth potential.

We also see opportunities in medical technology, where valuations are below their historical average, and in life-science tools and services, where earnings began to show signs of recovery in the second quarter of 2026.

How does this translate into the way Candriam selects oncology companies?

Our investment universe extends across the cancer care pathway, from medicines to diagnostics, tumour profiling and treatment technologies. The growing focus on earlier detection and more personalised care broadens the range of innovations we can assess. It also makes specialist knowledge essential to understanding what each company could contribute.

Our investment team combines scientific expertise with financial analysis, drawing on specialists with PhDs in biotechnology Building on this expertise, we start with a company’s products and the benefits they could bring to patients, examining clinical and medical data in depth and comparing potential treatments with existing alternatives. We also speak with key opinion leaders, including physicians and other experts in the field, to challenge our assumptions and better understand how an innovation may be used in clinical practice. We then assess the commercial opportunity: the size of the potential patient population, the competitive landscape and the extent to which a product could differentiate itself from existing or emerging treatments. This helps us assess the evidence supporting an innovation and its position in a competitive market.

Finally, we bring together our clinical and commercial assessment, financial analysis, valuation and ESG considerations. We assess how much of a company’s growth potential is already reflected in its share price and examine the risks associated with its business. Our aim is to identify companies that can turn scientific advances into meaningful patient benefits and long-term business growth, while maintaining discipline in the prices we pay.

Beyond investing, how does Candriam support the fight against cancer, including in Spain?

Alongside the investment strategy, Candriam dedicates a portion of the net management fees generated by its oncology strategy to organisations working on cancer research, prevention and support for patients and families. Through the Candriam Institute, this commitment supports projects across Europe and beyond. In 2025, the Institute donated €648,000 to the fight against cancer.

These contributions support different aspects of cancer care. In France, we supported the development of Gustave Roussy’s national centre for precision medicine, a university hospital institute. In Switzerland, we supported research into Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP), which linked some of these cancers to known tumour types and highlighted the growing role of molecular diagnostics. In Italy, our support helped fund an additional research project focused on recurrent cancer.

This commitment also brings our colleagues together. In 2025, 175 employees took part in our annual sports challenge in support of the Breast International Group’s work against breast cancer. Client events and staff awareness sessions with partner organisations complemented these fundraising efforts.

Through these initiatives, we aim to help advance tomorrow’s cancer care while supporting patients and their families today.