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Liver Cancer - Drug Pipeline Analysis and Market Forecasts to 2016Featured PR

The Liver Cancer Market is expected to Witness Significant Growth Due to the Launch of Many First-in-Class Products
Hyderabad, AP, India (prbd.net) 13/04/2010

"Liver Cancer - Drug Pipeline Analysis and Market Forecasts to 2016"

GlobalData valued the liver cancer market in 2009 at $235.1m, indicating a growth rate of 13.7% between 2001 and 2009. Until the market entry of Nexavar (sorafenib) in 2007, the liver cancer market was growing at a rate of only 7.5%. After the entry of Nexavar, the market registered a growth rate of 28.6% between 2007 and 2009. Until now, Nexavar has been the only approved drug for the treatment of liver cancer. Even though Nexavar extends overall survival by only three months, the drug is widely prescribed in the US and in some countries in Europe. The late-stage clinical development pipeline consists of many first-in-class and me-too drugs that are effective and safe for liver cancer patients. Once these drugs enter the market, the market will grow further at a significant rate. Therefore, GlobalData estimates that the liver cancer market in 2016 will be $920.7m, indicating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5% between 2009 and 2016.

GlobalData found that the current competition in the liver cancer market is weak, with only one approved drug, Nexavar. Nexavar is indicated for the treatment of advanced liver cancer patients only. Further, treatment with Nexavar extends survival by only three months. No pharmaco-therapeutic treatment options exist for the other stages of liver cancer. Some chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin, doxorubicin and vincristine are used as off-label drugs for the treatment of childhood liver cancer. The monthly cost of Nexavar runs to around $2,770. However, the direct cost (drug cost, physician cost and hospital cost) of treatment with Nexavar comes to around $5,400 and as a result is rejected for reimbursement in some countries such as the UK. Many liver cancer patients who cannot afford such high costs refrain from using the drug and consequently the competition in the liver cancer market has become even weaker.

GlobalData found that the liver cancer pipeline is very strong with approximately 169 molecules in the various stages of development. The majority of these molecules are first-in-class molecules that act on new receptors with new mechanisms of action. The late-stage pipeline is inundated with many first-in-class molecules, such as Miripla (miripaltin), Sutent (sunitinib) and Tamoxifen. Miripla was approved in Japan for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in January 2010. The drug is undergoing clinical trials in the US and Europe and is expected to receive regulatory approval by 2011. The first-in-class molecules are primarily tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators and light activated therapies.

GlobalData analyzed that the liver cancer market has high unmet needs in terms of both efficacy and safety. More than 90% of patients diagnosed with liver cancer are between 45 years and 85 years of age. Nexavar is the only available Food and Drug Association (FDA) approved treatment for advanced liver cancer patients. However, the median survival time in patients treated with Nexavar is only three months more than for patients treated with placebo. Moreover, Nexavar has a low safety profile. About 39% and 6% of Nexavar-treated patients reported grade 3 and grade 4 adverse reactions respectively.
Therefore, the unmet need in the liver cancer market was valued at 56% or $131.7m. This is expected to decrease significantly between 2009 and 2016 due to the expected launch of many first-in-class and me-too drugs. The majority of the first-in-class drugs are for the early stages of liver cancer and therefore they are expected to treat patients for whom no treatment options currently exist.

GlobalData’s report, “Liver Cancer - Drug Pipeline Analysis and Market Forecasts to 2016” is an essential source of information and analysis on the global liver cancer market. The report identifies the key trends shaping and driving the global liver cancer market. The report also provides insight on the prevalent competitive landscape and the emerging players expected to bring significant shift in the market positioning of the existing market leaders. Most importantly, the report provides valuable insight on the pipeline products within the global liver cancer sector.

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