In 2018, Sanofi-Aventis' BSI-201 will pick up sales of $1.7 billion in the triple negative breast cancer market, stealing share from Avastin

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis' Phase III investigational cancer compound BSI-201 will garner sales of $1.7 billion in the triple negative breast cancer drug market in the leading countries of USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan, says a new report from Decision Resources. Owing to the improvement in overall survival rates it has demonstrated in clinical trials and the need for novel targeted agents in this setting, BSI-201 is expected to steal significant market share from Roche/Genentech/Chugai's Avastin (bevacizumab).

The Pharmacor 2010 findings reveal that BSI-201, a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, will see considerable uptake in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer, following its expected launch in 2012 in the USA and Europe and in Japan in 2014.

In addition to BSI-201, other key PARP inhibitors in development include AstraZeneca's olaparib (AZD-2281) and Pfizer's AG-014699, the report notes.

"The inhibition of PARP has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy in DNA repair-deficient tumors as studies suggest that combining PARP inhibition with DNA-damaging chemotherapy or radiation may have a synergistic or enhanced effect," said Decision Resources analyst Niamh Murphy, adding: "Interviewed thought leaders are very optimistic about the PARP inhibitors and, in particular, about BSI-201's potential in the triple negative breast cancer setting."

Targeted approach improves survival