OncoForma: The Future of Cancer Treatment

Despite decades of advances in cancer research and drug development, one challenge remains: choosing the right treatment for the right patient. While many cancer drugs are statistically effective, outcomes for individual patients are still uncertain. A therapy that works for 70 percent of patients still fails for the remaining 30 percent – an unacceptable margin when lives, quality of life, and healthcare resources are at stake. 

This gap is precisely what OncoForma is working to close. 

CEO and Founder Roshan Thomas says, “OncoForma is a Canadian precision oncology company focused on making cancer treatment less of a guessing game by using patient-derived tumour organoids, which are three-dimensional replicas of a patient’s cancer grown in the lab, to directly test drug response before treatment begins.”  

Rather than relying solely on population statistics or genetic probabilities, OncoForma provides oncologists with real-world evidence of how an individual patient’s tumor reacts to different therapies. Thomas says, “Numerous studies have shown organoid testing to be faster and more predictive than traditional animal models, such as mouse xenografts.” 

OncoForma partnered with the University of Saskatchewan, where researchers – including Dr. Andrew Freeland – had been growing organoids and tumor models for years. OncoForma recognized the opportunity to translate this proven science into a clinical tool that could directly support oncologists and patients at the point of care. 

Thomas says, “OncoForma’s mission is to improve treatment selection. Today, oncologists rely on imaging, pathology, and increasingly, genomic testing to guide therapy decisions. While genomic sequencing has attracted billions in public investment, it often produces inconclusive results – identifying mutations for which no approved drugs exist. In those cases, clinicians are forced back into trial-and-error prescribing.” 

OncoForma’s approach adds a powerful new layer of insight. By growing a patient’s tumor outside the body and testing it against a wide range of drugs, the company provides actionable data that complements existing diagnostic tools and helps guide more informed treatment decisions. 

The process begins when tumor tissue is collected during surgery or through a biopsy. Thomas says, “With patient consent, a small portion of the sample is transferred to OncoForma’s lab, where it is grown into a three-dimensional tumor that closely replicates the structure and behaviour of the original cancer. Once established, these organoids are screened against up to 300 different drugs, including chemotherapies, targeted therapies, and repurposed medications.” 

They can directly observe which drugs kill tumor cells, which have no effect, and which may even accelerate tumor growth. OncoForma then classifies these responses, giving oncologists clear guidance on which classes of drugs are most likely – or unlikely – to benefit the patient. 

Each test also strengthens OncoForma’s growing data platform. While the company currently conducts physical drug testing for every patient, the long-term vision is predictive intelligence. Thomas says, “As hundreds – and eventually thousands – of tumor profiles are analyzed, patterns emerge. Patients with similar mutation combinations and tumor behavior can be compared, increasing confidence in treatment recommendations over time.” 

This data-driven approach is critical because cancer is not a single disease, but thousands of biologically distinct conditions. The more data OncoForma collects, the more accurate and scalable its insights become. 

The benefits extend beyond clinical outcomes. For patients, avoiding ineffective treatments means fewer debilitating side effects, better quality of life, and reduced risk of treatment-induced mutations that can make future therapies less effective. Cancer drugs are not benign, and choosing the wrong therapy can significantly complicate care. 

For healthcare systems, the economic case is equally compelling. Thomas says, “Saskatchewan alone reportedly spends over $120 million annually on cancer medications, much of it on drugs that may never benefit certain patients. Even modest improvements in treatment selection could translate into tens of millions of dollars in annual savings – far exceeding the cost of tumor testing.” 

The company’s most significant partnership to date remains with the University of Saskatchewan, whose facilities and expertise have enabled early validation. OncoForma is now focused on expanding to additional hospitals and universities across Canada, with the goal of generating enough clinical evidence to support broader adoption by provincial health systems. The company’s immediate priority is completing 100-patient validation studies and securing funding so patients can access testing without paying out of pocket. 

Support from organizations like Ag-West Bio has helped OncoForma move quickly by minimizing administrative barriers and allowing the team to focus on validation and growth. Thomas says, “Ag-West Bio was able to move quickly to support us, and we really appreciated that. We’re also exploring opportunities with GAAP labs for our next stages.”   

By bringing tumor organoid testing out of the lab and into clinical workflows, OncoForma is helping shift cancer care toward a more personalized, evidence-based future – one where treatment decisions are guided not by probability alone, but by direct insight into each patient’s disease.