Kidney Cancer Drugs Market is Estimated to Witness High Growth owing to Increasing Incidence of Kidney Cancer and New Product Launches
The Kidney Cancer Drugs Market is estimated to be valued at USD 6.89 Bn in 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.9% over the forecast period (2024-2031). Rising prevalence of kidney cancer due to sedentary lifestyle and growing geriatric population are driving the market growth. Furthermore, increasing R&D investments by market players for the development of innovative drugs is also fueling the market expansion.
Market Dynamics:
The growth of the kidney cancer drugs market is primarily driven by increasing incidence of kidney cancer worldwide. According to statistics, kidney cancer is among the 10 most common cancers in both men and women. Changing lifestyle patterns resulting in obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure are some of the major risk factors contributing to the rising burden of kidney cancer. Moreover, ongoing clinical trials and new product launches by leading pharmaceutical companies are also propelling the market growth. For instance, in March 2021, Exelixis, Inc. genomics-based drug discovery company announced positive Phase III results for cabozantinib versus sunitinib for the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. The drug demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival. Growing healthcare expenditures in developing nations will further aid the market penetration over the forecast period.
Increasing Incidence and Prevalence of Kidney Cancer is Driving the Market Growth
The increasing incidence and prevalence of kidney cancer has been a major growth driver for the kidney cancer drugs market. According to the American Cancer Society, there were over 73,000 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed in the U.S. in 2020. The disease is also becoming more common globally, with over 400,000 new cases reported worldwide in 2018. Advanced therapies and increasing awareness about the disease have allowed many patients to survive longer after diagnosis. This has contributed to rising prevalence levels and growing needs for long-term treatment and management of the disease. The continual development of newer and more effective drugs will be crucial to manage the increasing patient population and support market growth.
Advancements in Targeted Therapy are Expanding Treatment Options
Significant advancements have been made in developing targeted therapies to treat kidney cancer in recent years. Drugs that interfere with specific molecular pathways driving cancer growth have revolutionized treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-angiogenic therapies are increasingly used options. The US FDA approval of several such targeted drugs in the past decade has improved survival rates and quality of life for many patients. Continued research has expanded the applicability of these targeted approaches to different stages of renal cell carcinoma. The availability of multiple lines of targeted therapy provides better treatment optimization and supports market expansion.
High Cost of Novel Drugs Hampers Widespread Adoption
While targeted therapies have improved outcomes, they come at a very high price that restrains market growth. Some of the premium-priced new drugs can costs over US$100,000 for a year of treatment. This financial burden falls not just on patients but also on healthcare systems. The need for lifelong therapy in many cases further increases treatment costs over time. Limited insurance coverage and lack of support in underdeveloped regions restrict patient access to expensive novel drugs. High drug prices encourage healthcare providers and payers to emphasize cheaper standard-of-care regimens over cutting-edge therapies when possible. This poses a challenge for pharmaceutical companies to balance innovation with affordability.
Side Effects of Immunotherapies Limit Full Market Potential
A major limitation of immunotherapies is their potential to cause severe immune-related adverse effects sometimes called 'immune-related adverse events' (IRAEs). Drugs like checkpoint inhibitors act by removing brakes in the immune system, which can overstimulate and damage healthy cells and organs. This has led to life-threatening conditions like pneumonitis, colitis, hepatitis, and endocrinopathies in a fraction of treated patients. Managing toxicities requires additional treatment costs and hospitalizations, discouraging extensive usage. Limitations on duration of treatment and reluctance over combinational approaches take away from the maximum commercial gain from immunotherapies. Overall, toxicity management decreases their cost-effectiveness.
Combination Therapies Present Synergistic Opportunities
There is significant opportunity in developing well-tolerated combinations of existing drugs that work synergistically against kidney cancer. Combining immunotherapy with anti-angiogenic therapy or targeted drugs holds promise. In preclinical studies, immune checkpoints and angiogenesis pathways are found to influence each other in driving cancer progression. Drugs interfering with both simultaneously could achieve greater responses than single agents. Ongoing clinical trials evaluating dual immune-oncology regimens as well as chemo-immunotherapy give hope for improved outcomes. Synergistic combinations opening new treatment paradigms present commercialization opportunities for pharmaceutical firms to develop proprietary combination regimens and widen their product portfolios.
Companion Diagnostics Open Up Patient Segmentation
With the availability of multiple targeted drugs, selecting the most appropriate therapy based on tumor molecular profile is critical for achieving the best results. This requires reliable companion diagnostics to identify genetic alterations and biomarkers that predict drug responsiveness. There is opportunity for manufacturers of such diagnostic tests that guide personalized treatment decisions. As new biomarkers are discovered, refined diagnostics can further segment patient populations to select the right subset most likely to benefit from specific drugs. This aids pharmaceutical companies to maximize returns on their investment in drug development by ensuring only eligible patients are prescribed target drugs. Companion diagnostics form a complementary market with considerable scope for growth alongside precision oncology advances.
Link - https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/kidney-cancer-drugs-market-2399
Key Development
- In December 2023, Merck, a multinational pharmaceutical company also known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, received FDA approval for WELIREG, an oral HIF-2α inhibitor, in treating advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in adults after prior treatment with a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and a VEGF-TKI. The approval is based on significant and clinically meaningful outcomes from the LITESPARK-005 trial, unique for its focus on RCC patients who have progressed post PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and VEGF-TKI therapy.
- In December 2022, Exelixis, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in oncology, unveiled the commencement of the STELLAR-304 trial. This phase-3 pivotal study aims to assess the efficacy of zanzalintinib combined with nivolumab compared to sunitinib in patients with advanced non-clear cell kidney cancer.
- In October 2022, Health Canada granted the approval for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as a standalone treatment for adults with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the adjuvant setting. This approval applies to individuals at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence post-nephrectomy, or post-nephrectomy along with resection of metastatic lesions.
- In February 2022, Eisai Co., Ltd. A human health care company. and Merck & Co., Inc., global health care company Rahway, NJ, USA, announced the approval by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the combination therapy of LENVIMA by Eisai and KEYTRUDA by Merck & Co., Inc. This approval is for the treatment of radically unresectable or metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most prevalent form of kidney cancer.
Key Players: Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Roche Holding AG (Genentech, Inc.), Bayer AG, Exelixis, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., Aveo Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca PLC, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Abbott Laboratories Source, Amgen Inc. , Calithera Biosciences, Inc., Active Biotech, Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, and Karyopharm Therapeutics
