Oncology Drugs Market Definition
The oncology drugs market consists of sales of oncology drugs and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce oncology drugs to diagnose and treat all types of cancers. This industry includes establishments that produce drugs used in chemotherapy, surgery and radio therapies for treating pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, kidney cancer, brain tumor, and other cancer types.
The pharmaceutical industry develops drugs to diagnose, treat or prevent diseases. Pharmaceutical drugs are subjected to various laws and regulations that deal with patenting, testing, safety, efficacy and marketing. Oncology drug manufacturers produce pharmaceutical drugs made from active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients.
Oncology Drugs Market Size
The global oncology drugs market reached a value of nearly $167.9 billion in 2019, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% since 2015. The market is expected to decline from $167.9 billion in 2019 to $149.9 billion in 2020 at a rate of –11%. The decline is mainly due to lockdown and social distancing norms imposed by various countries and economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is expected to grow slightly from $201.1 billion in 2021 to $284.5 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 9.7%. The market is expected to stabilize and reach $284.5 billion in 2025 and $412.9 billion in 2030.
Growth in the historic period resulted from rapid growth in elderly population, strong economic growth in emerging markets, increased healthcare expenditure, increased number of approvals for hematology/oncology (cancer) drugs, increase in pharmaceutical R&D expenditure and advances in cancer drug discovery. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were patent expiration of drugs, pricing pressures from regulators, challenges due to regulatory changes, and low healthcare access.
Going forward, increase in cancer incidence rate, rise in healthcare expenditure, increasing geriatric population, strong pipeline of drugs and revised FDA regulations to facilitate biologics drug development are expected to drive the market. High costs of drugs, rise in interest rates, rising popularity of alternative therapies and natural remedies, coronavirus pandemic, covid-19 impacting drug trails, and reduction in free trade are major factors that could hinder the growth of the oncology drugs market in the future.
Oncology Drugs Market Drivers
The key drivers of the oncology drugs market include:
Increase in Cancer Incidence Rate
The rise in the number of cancer cases across the globe is likely to contribute to the growth of the oncology drugs market during the forecast period. According to American Cancer Society, there were 17,62,450 new cases and 6,06,880 cancer deaths in 2019 in the USA. The four most common types of cancer worldwide are lung, prostate, bowel, and female breast cancer, accounting for 43% of all the new cancer cases. Therefore, the rise in cancer incidence rate globally is anticipated to boost the demand for oncology drugs market over the forthcoming years.
Oncology Drugs Market Restraints
The key restraints on the oncology drugs market include:
Challenges Due To Regulatory Changes
Regulatory changes are likely to lead to increased costs relating to new product development and service offerings to clients. These changes are related to data protection such as the European Union`s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), changes to drug approval procedures and other regulatory changes. For instance, according to a report by Ernst and Young in 2018, Fortune 500 companies are spending $7.8 billion to comply with GDPR. The GDPR is an EU law on privacy and data protection of individuals residing in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also regulates data anonymization thus maintaining the integrity of data dealing with patients and other clinical trial studies. The potential loss of revenue due to delays in product release and additional costs incurred due to stringent approval processes puts a strain on investments relating to new product development, thereby affecting the growth of the oncology drugs market.
Oncology Drugs Market Trends
Major trends influencing the oncology drugs market include:
Development Of Personalized Cancer Vaccines
Drug manufacturers are investing in developing personalized cancer vaccines, and few have reached clinical trial phases. Pharmaceutical companies are combining genetic sequencing and precision medicine to create new drug therapies and cancer treatments that are designed to treat specific patients. For instance, in 2016, Merck, an American pharmaceutical company collaborated with Moderna Therapeutics, an American biotech company pioneer of messenger RNA Therapeutics to develop and commercialize novel messenger RNA (mRNA)-based personalized cancer vaccines. In 2019, Moderna announced the result from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study in patients with both resected (adjuvant) and unresected (advanced) solid tumors. The results were positive when mRNA mRNA personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) mRNA-4157, given alone or in combination with Merck’s pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®). Currently the vaccine is in phase 2 clinical trial.
Use Of 3D Printing To Test New Oncology Drugs
Manufacturers of oncology drugs are investing in 3D printing devices that mimic the human body to test new oncology drugs, hence reducing the time taken for approval and reducing clinical patient trials. These 3D printed devices are cheap to produce and can be fabricated quickly and easily, thus saving time and cutting costs. This method also allows personalization of medicine, as an individual patient’s tumor may be replicated to create the device, and different treatment methods may be tested on the device until the most effective treatment option is found. For example, Knight Cancer Institute is relying on San Diego based company, Organovo that designs three dimensional human tissues for medical research applications, for discovering and testing new cancer drugs.
Opportunities And Recommendations In The Oncology Drugs Market
Opportunities – The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market segmented by type will arise in the blood cancer segment, which will gain $15.3 billion of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market segmented by drug class type will arise in the targeted therapy segment, which will gain $38.6 billion of global annual sales by 2023.The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the hospital pharmacies segment, which will gain $41.5 billion of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market segmented by drug classification will arise in the branded drugs segment, which will gain $69.0 billion of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market segmented by route of administration will arise in the parenteral segment, which will gain $31.7 billion of global annual sales by 2023. The oncology drugs market size will gain the most in the USA at $25.1 billion.
Market-trend-based strategies for the oncology drugs market include focus efforts towards the development of next-generation biologics, develop micro needle injectors-based drugs to increase the bioavailability, consider investing in immunotherapy drugs and developing personalized oncology drugs to treat specific patients, should carry out strategic collaborations to boost innovations and should invest in AI solutions, to reduce R&D costs and save development times Player-adopted strategies in the oncology drugs market include strengthening its oncology drugs business by getting approvals of its drugs in different geographical region, and expanding businesses through sustainable investments, and strengthening through collaboration.
Recommendations – To take advantage of these opportunities, The Business Research Company recommends the oncology drug manufacturing companies to consider investing in the development of the cell and gene therapies and microneedle pills, work on strategic alliances for research & development to speed-up the drug discovery and manufacturing process, expanding activities to emerging markets to gain market share, offer competitively priced products to attract the users and use direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising and big data analytics to reach targeted audience, among other strategies.
Oncology Drugs Market Segmentation
The oncology drugs market is segmented by type of drug, by type drug class type, by distribution channel, by route of administration, by drug classification and by geography.
By Type -
The oncology drugs market can be segmented by type into drugs for
- a. Blood Cancer
- b. Breast Cancer
- c. Lung Cancer
- d. Prostate cancer
- e. Colorectal Cancer
- f. Cervical cancer
- g. Kidney cancer
- h. Gastric Cancer
- i. Brain Tumor
- j. Skin Cancer
- k. Ovarian Cancer
- l. Bladder Cancer
- m. Pancreatic Cancer
- n. Thyroid cancer
- o. Others
The blood cancer was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by type, accounting for 19.0% of the total market in 2019. Going forward, ovarian cancer segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the oncology drugs market, at a CAGR of 21.0%.
By Drug Class Type –
The oncology drugs market can be segmented by drug class type into
- a. Targeted Therapy
- b. Immunotherapy (Biologic Therapy)
- c. Chemotherapy
- d. Hormonal Therapy
The targeted therapy was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by drug class type, accounting for 42.3% of the total market in 2019. Going forward, the chemotherapy segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the oncology drugs market, at a CAGR of 14.5%.
By Distribution Channel –
The oncology drugs market can be segmented by distribution channel into
- a. Retail Pharmacies/Drug Stores
- b. Hospital Pharmacies
- c. Others
The hospital pharmacies was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by distribution channel, accounting for 50.8% of the total market in 2019. Going forward, the others segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the oncology drugs market, at a CAGR of 12.6%.
By Route Of Administration –
The oncology drugs market can be segmented by route of administration into
- a. Oral
- b. Parenteral
- c. Others
The parental was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by route of administration, accounting for 53.5% of the total market in 2019. Going forward, the others segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the oncology drugs market, at a CAGR of 12.7%.
By Drug Classification –
The oncology drugs market can be segmented by route of administration into
The branded drugs was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by drug classification, accounting for 94.3% of the total market in 2019. Going forward, the generic drugs segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the oncology drugs market, at a CAGR of 11.8%.
By Geography–
The oncology drugs market is segmented into
- o North America
- o Western Europe
- UK
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- o Asia Pacific
- China
- India
- Japan
- Australia
- Indonesia
- South Korea
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- o Eastern Europe
- Russia
- Czech Republic
- Poland
- Romania
- o South America
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Chile
- Colombia
- Peru
- Venezuela
- o Middle East
- Israel
- Saudi Arabia
- Turkey
- UAE
- o Africa
- Egypt
- Nigeria
- South Africa
North America was the largest region in the global oncology drugs market, accounting for 41.2% of the total in 2019. It was followed by the Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the oncology drugs market will be Asia Pacific and South America.
Oncology Drugs Competitive Landscape
Major Competitors are:
- • F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
- • Novartis AG
- • Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
- • Merck & Co., Inc.
- • Johnson & Johnson
Other Competitors Include:
- • AbbVie Inc.
- • Adcock Ingram
- • AdoRx Therapeutics
- • AID Genomics Limited
- • Amgen
- • Apikos Pharma
- • AQVIDA GmbH
- • Arlak Biotech
- • Aspen
- • Astellas Pharma Inc
- • AstraZeneca plc
- • Baxter International Inc.
- • Bayer AG
- • BeiGene
- • BIOPHARMA-MEA
- • Cambridge Cancer Genomics
- • CARsgen Therapeutics
- • Catalyst Clinical Research
- • Celentyx
- • Celgene Corporation
- • Cellomatics BioSciences
- • Celnova Pharma
- • Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd
- • Clovis Oncology
- • CStone Pharma
- • CureTech Ltd.
- • Daiichi Pharmaceutical and Sankyo
- • Eisai Co., Ltd.
- • Eli Lilly and Company
- • Eurofarma Laboratórios S.A.
- • Eurolab
- • F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
- • GlaxoSmithKline plc
- • Healthkind Labs Pvt Ltd
- • Johnson & Johnson
- • Julphar
- • JW Therapeutics
- • Kitov Pharma Limited
- • Kolaz biotech
- • Kyowa Hakko Kirin
- • Merck
- • Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (Merck & Co., Inc.)
- • Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
- • Neopharma
- • NeoTX
- • Novartis AG
- • Novo Nordisk A/S
- • Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
- • Pfizer
- • Pharmacyclics
- • Pierre Fabre Group
- • Sanofi
- • Shionogi Co., Ltd.
- • SwisscheM Healthcare Pvt.Ltd.
- • Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
- • TUTEUR Argentina
