Decision Resources projects growth in targeted cancer drug market

WALTHAM, Mass. The market for drugs that fight cancer by focusing on specific molecules, proteins and enzymes linked to it will reach more than $50 billion in five years, according to analysis by market research firm Decision Resources.

The firm announced Thursday the release of a report, "Strategic Overview of the Targeted Cancer Therapies Marketplace," showing that the drugs, known as targeted cancer drugs, would rise from a $25 billion market in 2008 to $51 billion in 2015.

Roche and Genentech, now a single company operating under both names, led the market in 2008, along with Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Competition is set to increase, however, as more players enter the market; currently, 142 companies are developing targeted cancer therapies. Currently, for example, Pfizer has one targeted therapy on the market, the kidney cancer drug Sutent (sunitinib malate), but it has many more in its pipeline, and Decision Resources expects its portfolio of the drugs to be worth $3 billion by 2015.

“Pfizer’s focus on targeted cancer therapies will pay dividends,” Decision Resources analyst Barbara Bolten said in a statement. “In 2005, Pfizer marketed no targeted oncology therapies, but by 2015, we expect it will be a multibillion-dollar player in this space.”