Cancer immunotherapy market is estimated to be valued at USD 141.06 Bn in 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.1% over the forecast period 2024 - 2031. The market is witnessing robust growth owing to increasing incidence of cancer worldwide and rising government support for research and development activities in the field of immunotherapies. Furthermore, growing awareness pertaining to the immunotherapies as highly effective treatment is fueling the market growth.
Market Dynamics:
Rising cancer incidence across the globe is the major driver propelling the growth of the cancer immunotherapy market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2022 report, cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, with around 10 million deaths in 2020. Moreover, support from regulatory bodies in terms of funds for research and awareness campaigns launched by governmental and non-governmental organizations is also boosting demand for immunotherapies. Increasing preferences towards immunotherapies over conventional treatment options on account of benefits such as high specificity, long-lasting response and improved survival rate compared to chemotherapy is further bolstering the market growth.
Increasing incidence rates of cancer globally
Cancer immunotherapy has gained significant traction in the last decade due to growing cancer burden worldwide. The incidence of various cancers including lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer is rising rapidly. This growing patient pool suffering from different types of cancer is the key factor boosting demand for improved and effective treatment options like cancer immunotherapy.
Higher efficacy and success rates of immunotherapy drugs
Compared to traditional cancer therapies like chemotherapy, immunotherapy drugs have shown promising clinical outcomes with durable responses and relatively less severe side effects. Drugs like checkpoint inhibitors that help activate the body's immune system to fight cancer cells have significantly improved survival rates in some cancers. Such higher success rates and clinical benefits are convincing oncologists as well as patients to opt for immunotherapy, thereby, propelling the market growth.
High cost of immunotherapy drugs and treatments
Immunotherapy drugs are significantly more expensive than traditional chemotherapy drugs. Since most patients require multiple doses or cycles of treatment, the total cost can reach thousands of dollars. This high expenditure acts as a major barrier for widespread adoption of immunotherapy, especially in developing countries.
Lack of awareness about immunotherapy
Despite major advancements, immunotherapy is still a relatively new and evolving treatment modality as compared to conventional cancer therapies. Many patients as well as physicians have limited knowledge about the mechanisms and benefits of different immunotherapy drugs. Lack of awareness hinders appropriate utilization of immunotherapy drugs and combination regimens. Concerted efforts are required from stakeholders to educate patients, physicians and the general public through awareness campaigns.
Combination therapies with immunotherapy
Researchers are exploring various combination strategies that involve administering immunotherapy drugs along with other treatment modalities like targeted therapy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Such multimodal approaches have shown encouraging results and may offer opportunities to expand the applications of immunotherapy. For instance, combining immunotherapy with radiation therapy or chemotherapy is able to generate more robust anti-tumor immune responses.
Newer immunotherapy drug formulations
There is a wave of novel pipeline candidates in preclinical and clinical testing that can address the current limitations. Simpler "off-the-shelf" formulations will decrease costs and facilitate wider accessibility. Other promising areas are bispecific antibodies, therapeutic vaccines and therapies targeting new immune checkpoints.
*Link: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/cancer-immunotherapy-market-5274
Key Development
- On March 14, 2024, Bristol Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical company, announced that Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, received accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients experiencing relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), who have undergone at least two prior lines of therapy, including a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor and a B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) inhibitor
- On March 07, 2024, Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it had received U.S. FDA approval for Opdivo (nivolumab) in conjunction with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the initial treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC), the predominant form of bladder cancer
- In December 2023, Pfizer Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. disclosed that the U.S. FDA had granted authorization for PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), a PD-1 inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma
- In February, 2023, the University of Vermont, Cancer Center initiated its CAR-T Cell program, offering CAR T-cell therapy as an innovative and highly efficacious cancer treatment. The UVM Cancer Center is the exclusive healthcare institution in Vermont and northern New York to provide this therapeutic modality.
Key Players: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Actym Therapeutics, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pfizer Inc, Novartis AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Fate Therapeutics., AstraZeneca, Amgen Inc., GSK plc., Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Arcus Biosciences, Inc., BioNTech SE, Cellectis, immunitybio inc, Autolus Therapeutics, ADC Therapeutics SA., Gritstone bio, and Incyte
