NovoCure Eyes Glioblastoma Growth, Cancer Launches and EBITDA Break-Even

NovoCure aims to restore glioblastoma growth , with Optune Gio volume up 8% year over year in the first half and U.S. penetration estimated at 35%–40% of eligible patients.

The company expects to complete enrollment in its Phase III KEYNOTE D58 trial by year-end.

The company is expanding its oncology pipeline and international footprint, including launches of Optune Pax for pancreatic cancer in Europe and planned Japanese regulatory review, while developing Tumor Treating Fields combinations with KRAS inhibitors.

NovoCure is targeting adjusted EBITDA break-even by year-end , potentially generating up to $50 million in adjusted EBITDA. Management says its approximately $440 million in cash and $200 million in debt should support operations without near-term capital-market access.

NovoCure NASDAQ: NVCR outlined its strategy for returning its glioblastoma franchise to growth, expanding launches in pancreatic and lung cancer, and moving toward profitability during the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Conference. Chief Executive Officer Frank Leonard said the company, founded more than 25 years ago in Israel, has developed Tumor Treating Fields, a technology that uses electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division. The company has invested roughly $1 billion in research and development and has advanced the technology through multiple Phase III programs, Leonard said. He described the treatment approach as having low toxicity and no systemic toxicity, with skin irritation as the primary adverse event. Leonard, who became CEO in late 2025, said NovoCure’s priorities entering the year were to restore growth in its glioblastoma business, launch its newer pancreatic and non-small cell lung cancer products, and improve operating discipline, particularly in research and development spending. He said the company had made progress on all three objectives during the first half of the year and had begun providing guidance for the first time in its history.

NovoCure’s Optune Gio device, approved in the U.S. for newly diagnosed glioblastoma since 2015, recorded 8% year-over-year volume growth through the first two quarters of the year, according to Leonard. The franchise had reached peak market penetration around early 2021 before moderating in subsequent years. Leonard attributed the return to growth to improved patient identification, segmentation and targeting tools, as well as a larger commercial organization. As NovoCure launched products in pancreatic and lung cancer, it effectively doubled its sales force, allowing the company to retain coverage of high-volume glioblastoma practices while expanding into community practices that may see only one or two glioblastoma patients annually. The company estimates that U.S. penetration stands at approximately 35% to 40% of eligible glioblastoma patients. Leonard said NovoCure remains committed to growing the franchise at a single-digit rate on an absolute basis, though year-over-year comparisons may become more difficult toward year-end.

NovoCure also expects to complete enrollment by the end of the year in its Phase III KEYNOTE D58 glioblastoma trial. The study is evaluating Tumor Treating Fields and pembrolizumab in addition to the established Stupp protocol. Leonard said the event-driven trial could read out in roughly two years. He said the company is seeking both further survival gains and validation of the theory that Tumor Treating Fields can alter the tumor microenvironment and improve responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have historically failed in brain neoplasms and glioblastoma.