New York City, 14 Jan 2019: The Immuno-Oncology (IO) Market Therapies is
estimated to be the more than USD ~30 billion by 2022. The market is projected
to grow at a higher CAGR of ~30% with the launch of potential therapies and
expansion of existing therapies during the forecast period from 2016-2022 in
the niche segment of cancer therapy areas as reported by the Polaris Market
Research Report "Immuno-Oncology (IO) -Competitive Analysis and Market
Forecast- [2016-2022]”.
In the past decade, the oncology
community has witnessed major advances in the understanding of cancer biology
and major breakthroughs in several different therapeutic areas, from solid
tumors to hematological malignancies; moreover, the advent of effective
immunotherapy approaches, such as immune-checkpoint blockade has changed the
current landscape and have provided personalized treatment solutions.
There are six immunotherapies in the
market, Keytruda and Opdivo being the highest sales generating drugs. Currently
Keytruda is challenging the Opdivo by rapidly taking its market share giving
fresh momentum in the race to get hold on to the new patients. In 2016,
Bristol-Myers had been the undisputed leader in immunotherapy after Opdivo was
approved for all patients with “second line” lung cancer patients who are no
longer responding to the chemotherapy treatment where Merck’s drug Keytruda had
the less sales due to its restricted use in the lung cancer patients.
Immuno-Oncology as a Personalized Therapy?
Immuno-oncology represents an innovative
approach to cancer research that seeks to harness the body’s own immune system
to fight tumor cells. We are at the forefront of this science with several
compounds in development that are being investigated for use in a variety of
cancers, as well as an approved immuno-oncology medicine that continues to be
studied for new uses.
The more precise targeting of patients for
selected therapies is another important area of focus in oncology. Clinical
biomarkers and pharmacogenomic studies are increasingly used to identify groups
and sub-groups of patients most likely to benefit from an investigational agent
in order to maximize its potential benefits.
Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors: The first targets to reach the Immuno-Onco market!
Immune checkpoints refer to a plethora of
inhibitory pathways hardwired into the immune system that are crucial for
maintaining self-tolerance and modulating the duration and amplitude of
physiological immune responses in peripheral tissues in order to minimize
collateral tissue damage. Checkpoint inhibitor immuno-oncology (I-O)treatments, the new breed of immuno-oncology therapies, enable the immune
system to identify and attack foreign cells, halting the spread of cancer
without destroying healthy cells like traditional therapies. It is theorised
that this targeted response will enable the use of I-O therapies in almost all
cancer types.
Currently, six checkpoint inhibitors
(Yervoy (ipilimumab), Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Opdivo (nivolumab), Tecentriq
(atezolizumab)), Bavencio (Avelumab) and Imfinzi (Durvalumab) have gained the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approval for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. Yervoy & Opdivo by
BMS and Keytruda by Merck were the first immunotherapies to reach the market
with the remarkable efficacy profile. Opdivo alone has regulatory approval to
treat six tumour types: melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC), kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and head and neck cancer.
Challenges associated with Immuno-Oncology Therapies
Cancer immunotherapy has eliminated the
terminal disease in some patients, but the clinical success is highly variable.
While biomarkers, oncogenes and mutations have been classic maps for predicting
therapy outcome, clinical success has reached a plateau. The current problem is
that the mechanism by which a drug target is selected is dictated by our
knowledge of the role of growth factor receptors or key immune checkpoint
proteins, and not patient-specific biology.
Cost presents another challenge to
market access for checkpoint inhibitors. The live example is NSCLC treatment
with Opdivo and Keytruda has been estimated at $150,000/year per patient, a
potentially significant strain on the fixed budgets of health care systems.
Cost-effectiveness is a key driver in decision making for agencies that conduct
economic assessments.
No comments:
Post a Comment