Modest growth expected for pancreatic cancer therapy market

Fueled by the increasing global prevalence of pancreatic cancer (PC), coupled with the approval of at least three new drugs, the PC therapeutics market value will climb from a value of $855.8 million in 2012 to around $1.21 billion by 2019, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%.

According to a new report from business intelligence provider GBI Research, Threshold Pharmaceutical’s (Nasdaq: THLD) TH-302 and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: MACK) MM-398 will be approved during the forecast period. This will be due to these drugs demonstrating significant improvements in progression-free survival, and trends towards improved overall survival in clinical trials.

Katie Noon, an analyst for GBI Research, says: “The recently approved Abraxane, and the pipeline drug TH-302, have both shown increased efficacy as a first-line treatment in combination with gemcitabine. With its improved efficacy and costs expected to be comparable with those of Tarceva, TH-302 is forecast to compete favorably both with Tarceva and with drugs prescribed off-label for the treatment of PC, notably Xeloda and Eloxatin.”