iOnctura to Showcase Game-Changing Cancer Therapy at J.P. Morgan

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – January 09, 2026 – The global biopharmaceutical industry will turn its attention to San Francisco next week, and clinical-stage company iOnctura is poised for a pivotal moment. The company announced that its CEO, Catherine Pickering, will present at the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, an invitation-only event widely considered the sector's most influential investment forum.

The presentation, scheduled for Thursday, January 15, will place a spotlight on iOnctura's lead asset, roginolisib, a novel oral therapy for hard-to-treat cancers. For a company like iOnctura, securing a spot at this conference is more than a speaking engagement; it’s a signal of growing momentum and a critical opportunity to engage with the investors and partners who can shape its future. The conference has historically served as a launchpad for major partnerships and M&A activity, setting the financial and strategic tone for the year ahead in biotech.

"We are honored to be invited to present at this year's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference," said Catherine Pickering, CEO and co-founder of iOnctura. "This recognition reflects the increasing interest in our science-driven approach and the meaningful clinical advances we have achieved with roginolisib. We look forward to sharing our progress and engaging with partners committed to transforming cancer care."

The Allosteric Advantage: Redefining a Challenged Drug Class

At the heart of the growing excitement is the unique science behind roginolisib. The drug is a first-in-class allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ (phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta), a critical enzyme in a signaling pathway frequently dysregulated in cancer. While targeting PI3Kδ is not a new concept, previous generations of inhibitors have been hampered by significant toxicity issues.

These earlier drugs, known as ATP-competitive inhibitors, bind directly to the enzyme's active site. This approach, while effective at blocking the enzyme, often led to off-target effects and severe immune-related adverse events. The problem became so pronounced that in 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee recommended that future approvals for this class of drugs in hematological cancers be supported by randomized data demonstrating an overall survival benefit, a higher bar reflecting the safety concerns.

iOnctura aims to succeed where others have struggled by employing a fundamentally different mechanism. Roginolisib is an allosteric modulator, meaning it binds to a different, secondary site on the PI3Kδ enzyme. This changes the enzyme's shape, precisely inhibiting its function without the broad-stroke interference of ATP-competitive drugs. The company believes this new archetype for PI3Kδ inhibition promises robust clinical activity while avoiding the detrimental side effects that plagued its predecessors. Early data appears to support this claim, with Phase I studies showing roginolisib is safe and well-tolerated, with some patients remaining on treatment for as long as 4.5 years—a safety profile described as unprecedented for this drug class.

New Hope for Neglected Cancers

The clinical promise of roginolisib is being tested in some of the most challenging areas of oncology, offering new hope for patients with limited options. The company's strategy focuses on neglected and hard-to-treat cancers where the PI3Kδ pathway is a known driver of disease.

One of the most promising early signals comes from uveal melanoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the eye. Up to half of all patients with uveal melanoma develop metastatic disease, which is notoriously difficult to treat and has a poor prognosis. In its Phase I trial, iOnctura reported that roginolisib demonstrated a doubling of overall survival compared to historical controls for this patient population. This striking result has paved the way for a pivotal Phase II study, OCULE-01, which began in March 2025. The randomized trial is designed to formally assess whether roginolisib can extend overall survival compared to the investigator's choice of standard care in patients whose disease has progressed after immunotherapy.

Beyond eye cancer, iOnctura is pursuing a broad clinical program. The PULMO-01 study, initiated in May 2025, is evaluating roginolisib in combination with immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who have exhausted standard treatments. This targets a massive market with a continuous need for new therapeutic strategies for resistant tumors. Furthermore, the HEMA-MED study, which began in November 2025, is exploring the drug's potential in myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer where the market leader, Jakafi, faces patent expiry in the coming years, opening the door for innovative new therapies.

The J.P. Morgan Spotlight: A Catalyst for Growth

For iOnctura, the presentation at J.P. Morgan is a strategic inflection point. Fresh off a successful €80 million Series B financing round in June 2024, led by specialist investor Syncona, the company is well-capitalized to advance its mid-stage trials. However, the visibility and networking opportunities at the conference could significantly accelerate its trajectory.

The event is a known nexus for dealmaking, where large pharmaceutical companies scout for promising assets to fill their pipelines. With recent industry trends favoring strategic acquisitions over mega-mergers, a company with a de-risked, first-in-class asset like roginolisib is an attractive potential partner. The presentation will allow iOnctura to lay out its clinical data and strategic vision to a concentrated audience of key decision-makers and investors.

The company's management team will also hold one-on-one meetings throughout the conference, seeking to forge the strategic partnerships and secure the investor support needed to navigate the expensive and complex path of late-stage clinical development and commercialization. The strong backing from a syndicate of specialist investors, including M Ventures (the venture arm of Merck, from which iOnctura spun out), Inkef Capital, and the EIC Fund, already provides a solid foundation of credibility.

As Catherine Pickering takes the stage, the presentation will be closely watched. It represents a crucial test of whether the broader investment community will validate the promise seen by its early backers and in its initial clinical results. For patients with devastating cancers like uveal melanoma, the outcome of such meetings and the progress they enable could mean everything.