Melanoma market set to grow to more than $2.8 billion by 2021

The branded melanoma drug market is set to grow to more than $2.8 billion across the USA and major European markets by 2021, driven by increasing patient numbers, organic growth of key marketed drugs, and the entry of novel therapies into the melanoma market, according to market research group Datamonitor.

Datamonitor says US drug giants Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) is set to be a big winner as its promising PD-1 inhibitor, nivolumab, moves into Phase III development. With its immunotherapy drug Yervoy (ipilimumab) currently dominating the first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma, B-MS’s share of the melanoma market is reportedly set to increase substantially over the coming years.

Phase I trial results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting indicated that nivolumab shows real potential, both as a single agent and in combination with Yervoy. If these results can be replicated in the drug’s ongoing Phase III trials, significant uptake is expected, with forecasted USA and EU market sales of $436 million in 2021, says Datmonitor.