Market Challenges And Opportunities
Global Skin Cancer Drugs Market Drivers:
- Increasing incidence of skin cancers: The rising incidence of skin cancers around the world is a major factor driving the growth of the skin cancer drugs market. Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer globally. According to the estimates, in 2021 around 5.4 Mn new cases of non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed annually. Melanoma accounts for only a small portion of skin cancer cases but leads to a majority of skin cancer deaths. The global incidence of melanoma witnessed a significant rise over the last few decades. The increasing incidence is due to various factors like excessive Ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, genetic predisposition, growing geriatric population, and others. This growing patient pool represents a key driver fuelling the demand for skin cancer therapeutics. For instance, in 2022, according to the Cancer Research U.K., there are around 16,700 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the U.K. every year i.e., 46 patients every day are detected with melanoma.
- Launch of novel therapies: Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly focusing on development of novel targeted therapies and immunotherapies for skin cancer treatment. The approval and launch of innovative skin cancer drugs over the last few years has transformed the treatment landscape. Drugs like immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown positive results in clinical studies for advanced melanoma. Several targeted therapies for BRAF+ and NRAS+ mutant melanoma have also gained regulatory approvals. The launch of these advanced therapeutic agents has improved survival rates in skin cancer patients which are driving the market growth. In 2022, Immunocore Holdings plc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of T cell receptor (TCR) bispecific immunotherapies, announced that they received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) which is being used for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM).
- Rising awareness and early diagnosis: Various public and private organizations are undertaking awareness campaigns about risk factors and symptoms of skin cancers globally. This is resulting in rising awareness among people about early diagnosis and timely treatment of the disease. People are increasingly adopting preventive measures like use of sunscreens. The higher awareness is leading to higher screening rates, early diagnosis and treatment initiation in skin cancer patients, thereby driving the market growth. Improved understanding about personalized medicine is also contributing to the market growth.
- Favorable reimbursement: The availability of favorable reimbursement for skin cancer targeted therapies and immunotherapies in developed countries like the U.S. is facilitating uptake among patients. Medicaid and Medicare provide coverage for majority of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) approved skin cancer drugs which reduces the out-of-pocket expenditure for patients. Private payers are also moving towards providing coverage for innovative therapies. The reimbursement support improves accessibility, affordability and compliance to newer skin cancer drugs, thus boosting the market growth.
Global Skin Cancer Drugs Market Opportunities:
- Emerging markets: Developing countries across Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa represent significant untapped opportunities for skin cancer drugs market. This is due to the improving healthcare infrastructure, rising healthcare spending, and increasing awareness in these regions. The rising disposable incomes, healthcare reforms, and entry of global players in emerging economies is expected to increase adoption of branded therapies, thus creating lucrative growth opportunities for market players in global skin cancer drugs market.
- Combination therapies: The potential of combination immunotherapies and targeted drugs is being increasingly evaluated in clinical trials for treating skin cancers. Combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors has shown improved efficacy in patients as compared to single agent therapies. Checkpoint inhibitor combinations are also being assessed. The promising clinical data from combination therapy trials has highlighted the vast opportunity in this segment. Pharma companies are entering partnerships to boost their combinational clinical programs, which are expected to drive significant market growth.
- Advances in drug delivery: Advances in drug delivery approaches present significant opportunities in skin cancer drugs market. Topical dosage forms like creams, ointments, gels, patches allow direct delivery of drugs to the skin and thus improve compliance. Novel drug carriers like liposomes, nanoparticles, and nanoemulsions are being explored for improving skin penetration. Device aided delivery like microneedles and iontophoresis also offers growth potential for topical skin cancer therapies. Companies are increasingly investing in R&D for advanced drug delivery to tap into these opportunities.
- Biologics and biosimilars: The rising development and approval of biologics like monoclonal antibodies for skin cancer has widened the clinical pipeline with innovative therapies. Biosimilars of top selling biologics are also expected to enter the market post patent expiry, thus leading to expansion of affordable treatment options. The growth of the biologics and biosimilars segment is set to provide new opportunities for generic players and contract manufacturers in the skin cancer drugs supply chain.
Global Skin Cancer Drugs Market Restraints:
- High costs of targeted therapies: Most advanced targeted therapies and immunotherapies which are used for skin cancer treatment are premium priced, which makes affordability a major challenge. For instance, the average cost of PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab is around US$ 150,000 per patient annually. The high costs limit their uptake and also impact reimbursement coverage, especially in developing countries. The affordability issues hamper the growth potential of novel skin cancer drugs to some extent.
- Low awareness in developing regions: Despite with increasing incidences globally, the awareness about skin cancers remains low in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Lack of education about risk factors, inability to identify symptoms, limited access to dermatologists, and others are key challenges. Low awareness leads to delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation, thereby negatively impacting prognosis and survival outcomes. The poor awareness thus acts as a significant barrier to skin cancer drugs market growth in these geographies.
- Stringent regulatory guidelines: The various regional regulatory bodies like US FDA and European Medical Agency (EMA) have set very stringent safety and efficacy guidelines for approval of newer skin cancer therapies. The entire regulatory process of clinical trials and product approval requires huge financial investments and time. Delays in key pipeline drug approvals thereby restrain market expansion to some extent. Post-approval, the standards imposed around manufacturing, advertising, pharmacovigilance, and others also pose challenges for players.
- Counterbalance: The market players should focus on proper reimbursement policies for the patients, so that the high cost associated with the treatment of skin cancer can be performed without any reason for unaffordability.
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