Investment in oncology drug development remains strong, with 133 firm initiating late-stage trials

Trials targeting non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and multiple hematological cancers are amongst the most active, while Roche and Novartis had the most oncology trial starts of any company, according to a new study.

Citeline, which focuses on pharmaceutical clinical trials and intelligence, recently completed a comprehensive review of clinical study starts in the oncology therapeutic area to uncover trends and patterns in drug development. Over the one-year review period (October 2009 through September 2010) over 400 late-stage trials were initiated in the oncology sector, more than any other therapeutic area, according to Citeline analysts.

Non-small cell lung cancer was the leading disease type, followed closely by breast cancer. "Notably, trials enrolling multiple hematological cancers and multiple solid tumors came in third and sixth, respectively, among all oncology diseases," commented Fern Barkalow, oncology senior analyst at Citeline, adding: "These trials represented 10% of the total, which was almost double that of the prior year, suggesting an effort by industry to increase the likelihood of success."