Targeted therapy drugs have emerged as an important new class of cancer drugs. Whereas traditional chemotherapy drugs work throughout the body in a fairly nonspecific manner, targeted therapies are designed to attack specific molecular targets present in cancer cells. These molecular targets could include abnormal versions of proteins involved in cell growth or survival. By attacking these targets, the Oncology Drug aim to stop or slow cancer growth while doing less harm to normal cells.
Some of the most commonly used targeted therapies include drugs that block specific pathways involved in cancer growth like angiogenesis inhibitors which block the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors. Drugs called EGFR inhibitors target the epidermal growth factor receptor, present in some lung cancers and head/neck cancers. These receptors stimulate cancer cell growth and division and the inhibitors block this signaling.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are another major class of targeted therapies. Tyrosine kinases are enzymes that help transmit signals from outside the cell to its nucleus by phosphorylating other proteins. Cancers often have abnormalities in tyrosine kinase signaling pathways which promote unchecked cell growth. Drugs like imatinib, used in chronic myeloid leukemia, and sunitinib for kidney cancer, function by inhibiting specific tyrosine kinases.
Immunotherapy Revolutionizes Treatment with Checkpoint Inhibitors
Immunotherapy uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer and has become a major area of cancer research in recent years. One important type of immunotherapy utilizes checkpoint inhibitors - oncology Drug that help overcome tumors' ability to evade immune detection and destruction. These checkpoints like PD-1 and CTLA-4 act as brakes on the immune system. Cancers are able to hijack these checkpoints to evade the immune system.
Checkpoint inhibitors like pembrolizumab and nivolumab which block the PD-1 checkpoint have resulted in long-lasting remissions in melanoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer and other hard-to-treat cancers. Ipilimumab, which targets CTLA-4, was the first drug in this class approved for use. Scientists are working to understand why some patients respond spectacularly to these drugs while others do not. Combination therapies using two checkpoint inhibitors or a checkpoint inhibitor with other drugs are being studied. The ability of immunotherapy to provoke long-term immune memory also makes it an exciting new treatment approach.
New Drug Classes Broaden Treatment Options
PARP inhibitors are a new drug class that works by blocking an enzyme called poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) which helps cells repair DNA damage. Without PARP, cancer cells with defective homologous recombination DNA repair pathways die. This makes PARP inhibitors especially effective against cancers with mutations in BRCA genes responsible for DNA repair like ovarian and breast cancers. Drugs like olaparib and niraparib have shown promising results.
Proteasome inhibitors disrupt protein homeostasis within cells by inhibiting the proteasome, a protein complex that degrades unneeded or damaged proteins. Cancer cells produce abnormally high amounts of malformed proteins and rely more heavily on the proteasome for control of protein balance within the cell. The drug bortezomib was the first FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor for treatment of multiple myeloma where it has significantly extended patient survival. Carfilzomib is a newer selectively targeted proteasome inhibitor also benefitting myeloma patients.
Antibody-drug conjugates combine the targeting ability of monoclonal antibodies with highly potent cancer-killing agents. Antibodies are engineered to recognize tumor-specific antigens and deliver their toxic chemotherapy "payload" directly inside cancer cells. This helps minimize side effects by focusing drug delivery. Adcetris was the first FDA-approved ADC treatment for lymphomas while Kadcyla helps treat certain HER2-positive breast cancers in conjunction with chemotherapy. Many new ADCs are in development against a wide variety of cancer types.
The Pipeline for Tomorrow's Treatments
Exciting new treatment approaches are progressing through clinical trials that may revolutionize cancer care in the future. Cancer vaccines designed to train the immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells show promise, as do oncolytic viruses which selectively infect and destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy involves collecting a patient's T-cells, engineering them to target specific cancer cell antigens, and infusing them back into patients where they may wipe out targeted cancers. Early results with CAR T-cells in blood cancers have been extraordinary.
Genomic profiling can reveal the specific molecular alterations driving a patient's cancer, revealing rational drug targets. As genomic datasets grow from global cancer sequencing initiatives, more such targets and associated drugs are being uncovered. Novel immuno-oncology combinations, epigenetic modifiers, agents targeting cancer stem cells, Angiogenesis inhibitors, and metastasis inhibitors are all areas of active research. The future of cancer care looks bright as this fast-moving research translates into new treatment options for patients. Precision medicine approaches tailoring therapies to individual genomic and molecular tumor profiles hold promise to customize care and maximize outcomes. With advances across scientific disciplines from genetics to immunology, the next decade will likely see unprecedented progress in cancer treatment.
The Oncology Drugs market research report provides the latest industry data, growth, key segments and future trends on the basis of the detailed study.
This market report also allows you to identify the future opportunity and growth rate of the leading segment based on regions and countries.The research report also covers the comprehensive profiles of the key players in the market and an in-depth view of the competitive landscape worldwide.
The major players in the oncology drugs market include AbbVie Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Celgene Corporation, f. Hoffmann-La Roche ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Global Services, LLC), Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc.
The growing approval for new drugs by the FDA and rising penetration of health insurance is amplifying revenue growth.
Malignant of the lung, female breast, and colorectum are the top three cancers in terms of incidence, estimated to hold the majority share in global terms.
However, expensive treatment and limited treatment options restrain the growth of the market.
