Why Cancer Breakthroughs Alone Aren’t Enough

At the beginning of the 20^th century, German physician and scientist Paul Ehrlich proposed that one day the scientific community might create “magic bullets”—treatments capable of targeting disease without harming the rest of the body.

Although his immunology work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908, his bold vision of targeted treatments remained out of reach for decades. Instead, cancer treatment relied largely on blunt-force approaches like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Fast forward to today, and oncology has entered an era Ehrlich could hardly have comprehended. Scientists can now map the molecular landscape of a tumor in incredible detail, design drug candidates in silico, and develop highly targeted therapies. Advances in diagnostics and sequencing have also meant that many more cancers are now characterized and monitored with increasing precision.

However, despite impressive milestones, developing, approving, and manufacturing a new therapy still takes years.

This continued lag suggests that scientific “breakthroughs” alone can only do so much. To explore what may still be holding progress back—and what could drive meaningful change—Technology Networks asked industry professionals the following question:

What do you think will do the most to accelerate progress in cancer research globally—breakthrough technologies, better integration of existing approaches, or changes in how collaborations are formed?

Karina Kulangara, PhD. Associate vice president of companion diagnostics R&D, Agilent Technologies

“We can collect a wealth of data with multiomic approaches. From my perspective, two things are important. The first is to keep turnaround time to a minimum, so perform testing in parallel rather than sequentially, if possible. The second is adequate education and clear guidance to the oncologist to make sure treatment decisions can be made quickly.”

Rita Shaknovich, MD, PhD. Chief medical officer, Agilent Technologies

“It will take a purposeful and coordinated effort to get us there. In addition, continued advances in AI tools will play an important role in enabling the development of smarter, more intuitive solutions. These technologies have the potential to significantly improve usability and workflow integration, delivering tools with far better user interfaces that reduce complexity, support clinical decision making, and ultimately make advanced diagnostics more accessible at the point of care.”

Marwan A. Alsarraj. Global segment manager, Life Science Group, Bio-Rad Laboratories

“While breakthrough technologies are important, the real driver of cancer research progress lies in effectively integrating existing resources through intentional collaboration. Many powerful tools are scattered across disciplines and institutions, but progress accelerates when we create cohesive workflows that combine technologies, data, and expertise. Additionally, fostering close collaboration among technology partners, researchers, and clinicians can enhance the impact of innovations and help deliver discoveries to patients more quickly.”

Marc Montserrat, MSc, MBA. Chief executive officer, DNA Script

“One challenge and opportunity in oncology today is that we can design a drug candidate in silico in days, but manufacturing it to test it in the physical world still takes months. Closing this gap is what will accelerate progress more than any single new modality. On-demand biomanufacturing, where sequence-to-clinical-material shortens from months to days, is how the field can translate science into therapies. Powering on-demand manufacturing and contributing to building this new layer of infrastructure will shape the next decade of oncology from discovery to commercial therapies.”

Jeremy Lambert. Director of product management, Stellaromics

“We believe that the next breakthroughs in cancer research will come from integrating findings from multiple omics layers across preclinical and clinical samples to gain a comprehensive picture of tumor biology that will ultimately drive biomarker discovery and new drug development.”

Morten Frost Norgreen, MSc. Chief commercial officer, SPT Labtech

“It’s not one single factor that will accelerate progress; it’s the combination of all three but underpinned by how effectively we collaborate.

“Breakthrough technologies will always play a critical role, particularly in areas like genomics and single-cell analysis. But their impact is limited if they’re not integrated effectively into existing workflows or made accessible to a broader range of labs.

“Better integration is equally important—connecting technologies, data, and workflows in a way that reduces complexity and improves usability. This is especially relevant as research moves closer to clinical application and into more decentralized settings.

“However, the real accelerator is how collaborations are formed. We need partnerships that are more hands-on, more iterative, and more focused on solving real-world challenges. It’s about working side-by-side with customers, not just delivering solutions to them.

“If we can combine advanced, precise technologies with that kind of collaborative approach and ensure they’re accessible even to labs with limited automation experience, that’s what will truly drive global progress in cancer research.”

Andrew Jenkins. Biotech research associate, Wasatch BioLabs

“All three matter, but real acceleration will come from better integration of technologies alongside more effective collaboration models. Breakthrough tools like long-read and native-molecule platforms clearly expand sequencing capabilities, but their impact will be limited if they remain siloed to niche applications or disconnected from broader analytical workflows.

“The greatest advancements occur when these new capabilities are thoughtfully integrated with existing approaches into comprehensive workflows that answer complex biological questions more fully. This requires effective collaboration, partnerships that bring together complementary expertise early, including technology developers, service labs, and researchers, to accelerate the translation of innovation into practical, scalable solutions.”