Market Challenges And Opportunities

Liver cancer therapeutics Market – Restrain

Stringent regulatory approvals to ensure the safety of drugs and cost of these drugs may hamper the growth of the liver cancer therapeutics market during the forecast period. For instance, in March 2017, ArQule, Inc’s product- tivantinib did not clear phase 3 clinical trial for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in japan, as it did not meet its primary endpoint of progression free survival (PFS)

Liver cancer therapeutics Market – Driver

Increasing research to identify the causes of liver cancer is expected to boost growth of the liver cancer therapeutics market during the forecast period. For instance, in November, 2014, researchers at the San Diego School of Medicine and University of California found that long-term exposure to triclosan, a common ingredient in detergents and soaps, causes liver fibrosis and cancer in laboratory mice. However, triclosan has not been proven to cause liver cancer in human and it is currently under scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine whether it has negative health impacts.

Moreover, increasing prevalence of liver cancer in various regions is expected to drive growth of the market. For instance, according to cancer research organization of UK, around 5,736 new cases of liver cancer were reported in UK in 2015. Furthermore, according to cancer organization, around 40,710 new cases of liver cancer was diagnosed in the U.S. during 2017, three of which will be hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Organic and inorganic strategies by market players such as merger, collaboration, acquisition, and research and development for developing new therapies for liver cancer is expected to boost growth of the market. For instance, in 2013, Roche and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. entered into license agreement to research, develop and commercialize Inovio’s highly-optimized, multi-antigen DNA immunotherapies targeting hepatitis B and prostate cancer. It has also been shown that liver cancer risk increases substantially with the increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) of an individual. More than half of the adult population in the U.S. is overweight, which is propelling demand for therapeutic drugs of liver cancer, which in turn is creating opportunities for manufacturers.