Six new drugs will drive pancreatic cancer treatment market to $2.9 billion by 2021

The pancreatic cancer treatment market will grow from its current level of $1.9 billion to $2.9 billion by 2021, new research shows, with increased disease prevalence also a factor.

A new report from business intelligence provider GBI Research – Pancreatic Cancer Therapeutics in Major Developed Markets to 2021 - states that there are six pancreatic cancer drugs expected to gain approval within the forecast period, all of which have demonstrated significant improvement in progression-free survival and/or overall survival in clinical trials. Growth will occur across the eight major countries of the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Canada.

Analyst Adam Bradbury said that the six drugs expected to gain approval within the forecast period are Threshold's Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: THLD) TH-302, Merrimack's (Nasdaq: MACK) Onivyde ((irinotecan liposome injection; in Europe), NewLink Genetic's (Nasdaq: NLNK) HyperAcute Pancreas, Cancer Advances' G17DT, Immunomedics' (Nasdaq: IMMU) clivatuzumab tetraxetan, and Incyte's (Nasdaq: INCY) ruxolitinib phosphate. However, these drugs are not expected to significantly impact the market because of their high cost-to-benefit ratio, which will severely limit their sales by 2021, he noted.