Breast cancer therapy market primed for growth

Due to an increased use of targeted therapies, greater uptake of branded drugs, and a rising incidence of breast cancer, the breast cancer therapeutics market will grow from $9.2 billion in 2013 to $13.1 billion by 2020, according to a new report from market research firm GBI Research.

The moderate growth represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%. The figures cover the eight major global geographic markets, consisting of the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, and Canada.

Branded drugs will become more favored over this period, and market growth will also result from the launch of a number of premium-priced agents and a gradual increase in the use of targeted therapies, GBI analyst Saurabh Sharma said in a statement.

GBI said the breast cancer drug treatment pipeline is highly robust, with potential candidates in various phases of clinical development. Of the 612 active progressing pipeline molecules, 259 (42%) are in the preclinical stage of development, 100 (16%) are in phase I clinical trials, 130 (21%) are in phase II, and 52 (8%) are in phase III, according to the company.

A substantial number of active drug candidates are also in the discovery stage. The current pipeline of investigational agents also includes new combinations and targeted therapies, promising immunotherapies, and chemotherapy drug candidates, Sharma said.