Novocure Company

In 2000, Yoram Palti, our founder and professor emeritus of physiology and biophysics at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, sought to leverage his expertise in biophysics to develop a new way to treat solid tumor cancers that would destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue and avoiding many of the life-altering side effects of existing cancer therapies.

He set up a laboratory in his basement to explore the potential of electric fields as a treatment for solid tumors.

Professor Palti founded Novocure to provide patients with a new cancer treatment based on his hypothesis, since proven, that alternating electric fields, when applied at specific frequencies, can disrupt cancer cell division and cause cancer cell death. This innovative treatment, Tumor Treating Fields, is a completely different approach to cancer therapy.

“Nobody understood what I was doing,” Professor Palti said of his early development of Tumor Treating Fields.

We launched Optune® – our Tumor Treating Fields delivery system for glioblastoma (GBM) – in the United States for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma in 2011. In October 2015, we received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market and sell Optune for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed GBM in combination with temozolomide. Our currently active markets include United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel and Japan.

The science of Tumor Treating Fields has the potential to extend beyond GBM. We have six ongoing or completed phase 2 pilot trials for brain metastases, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer and mesothelioma. We presented our phase 2 pilot data in pancreatic and ovarian cancers at our research and development day on Dec. 12, 2016. In 2016, we began our phase 3 pivotal trial in brain metastases originating from NSCLC. In 2017, we started our phase 3 pivotal trials in NSCLC and pancreatic cancer. In 2019, we initiated our phase 3 pivotal trial in recurrent, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Internationally, more than 20 institutions are studying the effects of Tumor Treating Fields in cancer treatment.

Our company began with a patient-forward approach that continues to drive our mission today. With more than 19 years of research and many significant milestones, we have established ourselves as an innovator in oncology dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients.