Immunotherapy Market Estimated To Reach $35 Billion Annually

Industry analysts expect the immunotherapy market to reach $35 billion annually, The Chicago Tribune reports. Immunotherapy drugs refer to a new class of drugs that manipulate the patient’s own immune system to fight off ailments. These drugs have tremendous potential in oncology, and a variety of companies are testing how effective immunotherapy treatments can be for a plethora of different cancers. Currently, the market is driven by immunotherapy cancer drugs produced by four companies—Merck & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, and Roche.

Asthika Goonewardene, a market analyst with London based Bloomberg Industries, says that the immunotherapy market has received a lot of attention from people in the industry as of late. “I have never seen this much enthusiasm collectively for a class of drugs before,” he said. “This is essentially what we call a land grab. There's opportunity, and everybody is going out to find what that opportunity is.”

Jill O’Donnel-Tormey, the CEO of the Cancer Research Institute in New York, said that the immunotherapy market is exciting to researchers, doctors, and patients alike because there is a belief that once the immune system is active against cancer, it will remember what cancer cells look like and remain effective against them for a longer period of time.

Immunotherapy trials can be expensive, costing anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000 per patient for early stage trials. Mid stage trials can cost anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000 per patient, and late stage trials can cost as much as $100,000 per patient. However, despite the high start-up costs, many believe that the rewards can be lucrative for the company and beneficial for the patient. Tormey tells the Chicago Tribune that this new class of drug could benefit patients, as the body’s response lasts longer to immunotherapy treatment.

Even with the potential payoff, drug companies aren’t calling the immunotherapy development process a race. “Your up-front decision-making process has a lot of impact on whether your program will be successful," said Niko Andre, Roche's head of medical affairs in oncology. The immune therapy race doesn't have just one finish line, but is rather the start of some of "the broadest and widest development programs for years to come.”