Highlights

  • A major global analysis published in The Lancet Oncology has put a hard number on a link that cancer researchers have long understood: roughly one in eight new cancer cases worldwide can be traced back to an in
  • Hepatitis B was tied to about 360,000 cancers, largely of the liver, Epstein-Barr virus to roughly 260,000, and hepatitis C to about 160,000.
  • That puts antibiotics and antivirals in a different light: as tools of cancer prevention as well as infection control.
  • Of most relevance here, an earlier oral candidate, RECCE 435, produced dose-dependent reductions in H.

Biotron (ASX:BIT) is in focus. A major global analysis published in The Lancet Oncology has put a hard number on a link that cancer researchers have long understood: roughly one in eight new cancer cases worldwide can be traced back to an infection. The finding has prompted fresh attention on the drugs that target bacteria and viruses, and on the handful of ASX-listed biotechs working in that space.

The study, led by Dr Harriet Rumgay of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's Cancer Surveillance Branch, estimated that about 2.3 million cancers diagnosed in 2024, or around 12 per cent of the global total, were attributable to infection. Roughly three-quarters of those cases occurred in low and middle-income countries, where vaccination, screening and treatment are less accessible.

Infections Put a Wider Cancer Link in Focus

Five infectious agents do most of the damage. The stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori was linked to about 760,000 cases, chiefly gastric cancers, while human papillomavirus accounted for around 750,000, mostly cervical. Hepatitis B was tied to about 360,000 cancers, largely of the liver, Epstein-Barr virus to roughly 260,000, and hepatitis C to about 160,000. In all, infection-related cancers spanned more than 20 tumour types.

The encouraging message from the research, is that a large share of these cancers is preventable. HPV and hepatitis B vaccines, cervical screening and treating chronic infections such as H. pylori, HIV and hepatitis B and C before they cause lasting tissue damage can all cut cancer risk. That puts antibiotics and antivirals in a different light: as tools of cancer prevention as well as infection control.

Biotron Advances Its Antiviral Pipeline

Biotron is perhaps the most direct fit. The Sydney company's long-running antiviral program centres on BIT225, which has been through Phase 2 HIV trials, and in August it said its hepatitis B candidate, BIT-HBV001, would move into formal preclinical development after laboratory work at Scripps Research showed reductions of 98.1 per cent in hepatitis B surface antigen and 99.7 per cent in HBV DNA in infected cells. Biotron is aiming for first-in-human studies in the second half of 2027. Managing director Michelle Miller described a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B as one of the most important unmet needs in antiviral medicine, with more than 250 million people chronically infected.

Recce Pharmaceuticals is developing a new class of synthetic anti-infectives designed to resist the build-up of bacterial resistance. Its lead compound, R327, has been in Clinical Trials across sepsis, urinary tract infections and diabetic foot infections. Of most relevance here, an earlier oral candidate, RECCE 435, produced dose-dependent reductions in H. pylori in an animal model, a pathogen the World Health Organization lists as a priority antibiotic-resistant threat.

Other Developers Add to the Theme

Island Pharmaceuticals is focused on antivirals for serious viral diseases, led by galidesivir, a broad-spectrum candidate it is advancing toward biodefence and outbreak markets including Ebola, alongside expanded GMP manufacturing. Argent BioPharma, better known for its CannEpil epilepsy treatment that was licensed globally in July, also holds CimetrA, an anti-inflammatory that completed a Phase IIb trial in COVID-19 patients.

Clinical Progress Sets the Next Markers

None of these companies has a product aimed specifically at preventing infection-related cancer, and their programs remain at varying, mostly early, stages. Share price reactions to the

Still, the IARC numbers give investors a useful frame for the sector. Watch for Biotron's progress toward hepatitis B human trials, further clinical readouts from Recce, Island's galidesivir regulatory and Supply milestones, and any broader policy moves to expand screening and treatment of cancer-causing infections.

Which Clinical Milestone Comes Next?

Attention now turns to the next operational, clinical, exploration or regulatory milestones outlined by Biotron, with upcoming results and execution set to determine how the current development pathway progresses.