MAb market for gastric and esophageal cancer expected to double by 2019

Due to favorable market conditions in terms of US pricing structures and the anticipated approval of a number of late-stage pipeline drugs, the market value for monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in gastric and esophageal cancer treatment is expected to double by 2019.

A new report from business intelligence provider GBI Research forecasts that the market for MAbs in gastric cancer will grow from $256 million in 2012 to $501 million by 2019, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%, while the MAbs market for esophageal cancer is expected to climb from $137 million in 2012 to $265 million by 2019, at a CAGR of 9.9%.

Currently, there is only one MAb - Swiss drug major Roche’s Herceptin (trastuzumab) - available for the two indications. Primarily marketed for breast cancer, Herceptin gained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of gastric and esophageal cancers in 2010. However, its patent is expected to expire in the European Union in 2014 and in the USA by 2019.