NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) reported record second-quarter 2026 net revenue and active patient levels, with management pointing to growth across its approved products and improved expense discipline as it raised full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance.
Executive Chairman William Doyle said the quarter was NovoCure’s “strongest commercial quarter to date,” driven by record net revenues and active patients on therapy. The company reported net revenue of $184 million, up 16% year over year, and said more than 5,000 patients were on therapy across its products.
Optune Gio Leads Commercial Growth
Doyle said Optune Gio ended the quarter with 4,636 active patients on therapy, an 11% increase from the prior year. Growth in the U.S. was a key contributor, with active patients rising 8% year over year. Doyle attributed the U.S. performance to strategic and structural changes made in recent years to the company’s commercial operations.
The company also reported double-digit year-over-year growth for Optune Gio in Germany, Japan and its global markets group.
Brackmann said Optune Gio patient growth was the primary driver of the company’s revenue increase. He also cited contributions from newer products, including $5.4 million from Optune Lua and $1.6 million from Optune Pax.
Optune Pax Launch Gains Early Traction
Management highlighted early progress for Optune Pax, the company’s therapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Doyle said NovoCure received 418 prescriptions for Optune Pax during the quarter, and 285 patients were on therapy as of June 30.
Doyle said the company has completed its early launch objectives, including engaging, training and supporting prescribers already familiar with the PANOVA-3 clinical data. He said adoption has been seen at both academic and community practices, and that feedback at the ASCO conference confirmed the PANOVA-3 survival data is viewed as important for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Chief Executive Officer Frank Leonard said during the question-and-answer session that about half of Optune Pax prescribers have already become repeat prescribers, while the other half have used the therapy once. He said NovoCure’s focus in the next phase of the launch is to move physicians from trying Optune Pax to integrating it into routine practice.
NovoCure also received CE Mark approval for Optune Pax for adult patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer of exocrine origin, used with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in accordance with local guidelines. Doyle said the company has finalized labeling and registration in Germany and begun certifying prescribers.
Optune Lua Expands in Japan
Optune Lua ended the quarter with 207 patients on therapy, including 64 in Japan as of June 30. Doyle said early launch signals in Japan are consistent with NovoCure’s view that Japanese clinical practice patterns align more closely with the product’s label than in other Optune Lua markets.
The company received national reimbursement for Optune Lua in Japan in March and began certifying physicians shortly afterward. Doyle said additional contracting is required at each treatment site, and NovoCure expects Japan to become its leading Optune Lua market as more hospitals and prescribers are contracted.
In response to an analyst question, Brackmann said the company expects sequential patient growth in Japan, though he noted that growth may become more difficult over time because the duration of therapy in the LUNAR clinical trial was about four months.
Clinical Strategy Shifts Toward Label Expansion
Leonard said NovoCure is entering a new phase of clinical development. While the company’s historical strategy focused on establishing Tumor Treating Fields, or TTFields, in new cancer types, the current focus is on strengthening market position and broadening labels for approved therapies.
Leonard said pancreatic cancer is the company’s near-term clinical priority. NovoCure is designing additional sponsored trials to support label expansion in locally advanced pancreatic cancer and earlier stages of disease where tumors may be resectable. He also said the company is in active negotiations with industry partners to explore TTFields in combination with RAS inhibitors or other innovative pancreatic cancer therapies in pilot trials.
The company is also preparing to open an investigational device exemption trial for concurrent use of TTFields therapy and divarasib following its expected FDA approval. Leonard said the purpose of the trial is to generate safety and feasibility data quickly, and that NovoCure does not plan to open a registrational trial in metastatic pancreatic cancer at this time.
In glioblastoma, Leonard said the KEYNOTE-D58 phase III trial remains on track to complete enrollment by year-end, with database lock and top-line results expected about two years later. The study is evaluating pembrolizumab added to TTFields therapy and maintenance chemotherapy.
For non-small cell lung cancer, NovoCure is modifying its LUNAR-2 phase III trial to reduce costs and speed completion. Leonard said the company is reallocating clinical resources to higher-enrolling sites and amending the protocol to streamline primary endpoints, with an expected reduction in total LUNAR-2 spending of about $90 million. Those savings are expected to be allocated to pancreatic cancer programs.
Profitability Path Comes Into Focus
Brackmann said gross margin was 78% in the quarter, compared with 74% a year earlier, helped by a $5 million tariff refund, improved utilization and manufacturing efficiencies. He said quarterly gross margins are expected to remain in the mid-70% range through year-end 2026 as more Optune Pax patients begin therapy before broad reimbursement is established.
Research and development costs fell 8% year over year to $51 million, while sales and marketing expenses rose 8% to $62 million due to the Optune Pax launch in the U.S. and Optune Lua launch in Japan. General and administrative costs declined 9% to $40 million, primarily because of lower share-based compensation.
NovoCure reported a second-quarter net loss of $16 million, compared with a $40 million loss in the prior-year period. Loss per share was $0.13. Adjusted EBITDA was $11 million, compared with negative $10 million in the second quarter of 2025. The company ended the quarter with $441 million in cash and investments.
“We are unambiguous in our enterprise-wide focus on reaching profitability in the coming years,” Brackmann said, citing revenue growth, expense management and cost-optimization projects such as the LUNAR-2 redesign.
About NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR)
NovoCure is a global oncology company pioneering Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), a novel anti-mitotic therapy for solid tumors. The company’s non-invasive treatment platforms deliver low-intensity, alternating electric fields designed to disrupt cancer cell division. NovoCure’s approach offers an alternative modality to complement existing therapies in oncology, with a focus on hard-to-treat malignancies.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Haifa, Israel, NovoCure maintains a second operational center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
