Europe leading in number of oncology startups, although losing ground in fastest-growing cancer innovations

Munich, 3 February 2025 – Cancer remains a major health threat in Europe, which accounts for nearly 25% of global cases and over 20% of deaths, despite having less than 10% of the world's population . Technological advancements are improving survival rates, with European healthcare systems showcasing excellence in cancer prevention and patient care. Ahead of World Cancer Day, the European Patent Office (EPO) has published its second study on cancer-related technologies, which provides an in-depth analysis of the fastest growing technology fields including cellular immunotherapy (where the number of patent applications grew at an average annual rate of 37.5% between 2015 and 2021), gene therapy (+31%) and image analysis (+20%). 

The report, New frontiers in oncology, shows that Europe is losing shares of patent applications in these high-growth areas of cancer innovation compared to the US and China, dropping on average 5 percentage points in the top three fastest-growing fields. However, it also finds that Europe is home to the highest number of oncology-related startups, with some 1 500 entities, compared to 1 325 in the US.

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