Robust Growth in the Breast Cancer Market Will be Driven by An Increasing Incident Population and Uptake of Current Therapies as well as Entry of Emerging Premium-Priced Agents

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that by 2023 an increasing incident population, continued uptake of current premium-priced drugs and the launch of several novel therapies for which large numbers of patients will be eligible, will fuel the breast cancer market to grow to over $18 billion across the major markets (United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan), almost doubling in size over the ten-year forecast period.

Other key findings from the Pharmacor report entitled Breast Cancer:

• New market entrants: Almost three-quarters of diagnosed incident cases of breast cancer are hormone receptor (HR)-positive and HER2-negative, making this a large and potentially lucrative treatment setting. New market entrants, the CDK4/6 inhibitors, are expected to be approved for this population, including Pfizer's palbociclib, which has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review.
• Perjeta and Kadcyla: Sales from the HER2-positive population are also set to increase with the continued uptake of, and anticipated label extensions for, Roche/Genentech/Chugai's Perjeta and Kadcyla. Combination use of these HER2-targeted therapies will increase treatment costs and bolster overall market sales. Recent positive clinical data for Puma Biotechnology's small molecule HER2 inhibitor, neratinib, have positioned this agent for use in the lucrative adjuvant setting.
• European experts' reaction to subcutaneous Herceptin: Roche has developed a subcutaneous formulation of its HER2 monoclonal antibody Herceptin, which has launched in Europe. Experts had enthusiastically received the novel formulation, which shortens administration times compared to the intravenous form.
• PARP inhibitors: A subset of breast cancers harbor germline BRCA1/2-mutations, and the PARP inhibitor drug class has emerged as a potential targeted therapy for this population. Four PARP inhibitors are now in Phase III development; Tesaro's niraparib, BioMarin's BMN-673, AstraZeneca's olaparib and AbbVie's veliparib -- however, forecasted sales of these agents arising from the BRCA1/2-mutated breast cancers are limited by the small size of the BRCA1/2-mutated population.

Comments from Decision Resources Group Analyst Amy Duval, M.Res.:

• "Even as a large market with well-established treatments, active research and development into novel therapies to treat breast cancer means that this market will continue to evolve and grow, almost doubling in size over the forecast period"
• "Phase II data from the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib look promising, and two further CDK4/6 inhibitors from Eli Lilly and Novartis have now joined palbociclib in Phase III development. Competition between these therapies for a share of the large advanced HR-positive, HER2-negative population is likely to be fierce."

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SOURCE Decision Resources Group