A major competitive analysis...
April 23rd 2010
145
£1295 / $2265 / €1620
Online, PDF
Avastin is set to become the most successful cancer treatment to date and one of the leading drugs with sales likely to exceed US$9 billion by 2015.
Since its launch in 2004, Avastin has achieved strong growth culminating in sales of US$5,731 million (SFr 6.2 billion) in 2009. Not only is Avastin now Roche’s top-selling oncology product, ahead of both MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab), but its sales exceed those of every other cancer product on the market.
In 2009, solid growth was seen across all markets, driven by continued uptake in colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer (BC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the US, metastatic BC was the main growth driver, helped by launches for the new indications of glioblastoma and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Strong growth was seen in the EU in all indications. In the Japanese market, Avastin sales growth was particularly strong with continued substantial uptake in CRC, enhanced by its recent approval for NSCLC.
While its first-to-market status and Roche’s experience in the oncology sector have provided a sound basis for growth, a number of related angiogenesis products have been launched and many more are on the horizon. What threat do they present to Avastin’s status and when will their impact be felt?
The current market
Avastin is the only product that currently directly inhibits VEGF. Competing products take a different approach. Bayer/Onyx’ Nexavar, Pfizer’s Sutent and GSK’s Votrient/Armala are all multi-kinase inhibitors and Pfizer’s Torisel and Novartis’ Afinitor are mTOR (kinase) inhibitors.
Looking forward...
Drugs with novel mechanisms of inhibiting angiogenesis are beginning to emerge in company pipelines. Espicom has identified 13 major projects in Phase III development, with a further 10 in Phase II. Novel agents include:
Enzastaurin: A novel agent that acts through inhibition of protein kinase C and has been found to suppress tumour growth through multiple mechanisms, such as the direct suppression of tumour cell proliferation.
Panobinostat: This pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor targets multiple oncogenic pathways, including angiogenesis.
PF-02341066: This is a selective ATP-competitive small-molecule inhibitor of both c-Met/hepatocyte growth factor receptor and anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinases and their oncogenic variants.
This new report from Espicom, published April 2010, evaluates Avastin and puts it into its market and competitive context with in-depth analysis of the products and companies that may shape the competitive landscape in the future.
About the Authors
This report has been researched and written by the 4D Pharma team at Espicom. The report’s editor is Espicom’s senior pharmaceutical analyst, Sue Viney. For over 10 years she has played a pivotal role in tracking trends in drug development and corporate performance. In addition she has produced detailed product analyses in the Breast/Lung/Colorectal/Prostate Cancer, CNS and Rheumatoid Arthritis sectors.