Market Challenges And Opportunities

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Antibodies Market Drivers

Rising prevalence of diseases such as cancer and macular degeneration is expected to boost growth of the market over the forecast period. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017, cancer was the second most common cause of death in the U.S., which accounts for nearly 1 out of every 4 deaths. Novel therapies such as monoclonal antibodies and angiogenesis inhibitors are highly specialized targeted therapies, which directly targets the cancerous cells. The preference for targeted therapies is rising, owing to the advantages (lesser side effects) offered by targeted therapies over conventional therapies such as chemotherapy. Furthermore, robust pipeline of VEGF antibodies is expected to boost the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, Brolucizumab (Alcon) is in phase 3 clinical trials, Abicipar (Allergan Plc) is in phase 3 trials, and RG7716 (Genentech) is in phase 2 trials, all indicated for age-related macular degeneration. Moreover, Tecentriq manufactured by Roche received the U.S. FDA priority review status to treat people with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer in May 2018. Therapies already present in the market have shown improved clinical outcome in cancer as well as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). For instance, Lucentis, as well as Avastin have shown significant improvement in medical outcomes in associated indications such as cancer. These therapies have spurred the interest of manufacturers to further carry out research in this category, which is shown in terms of number of agents present in the pipeline. Blockbuster drugs such as Avastin and Lucentis allow manufacturers to invest in research and development of such therapies, in order to generate the revenues later on while providing the benefits to patients as well. These factors are expected to foster growth of the market over the forecast period.

However, high costs of these medications, biosimilar research, and subsequent launches are expected to hamper the growth of the market. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has already approved Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb), a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) in December 2017. Moreover, European Commission approved biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) in January 2018.