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AML-related revenues to nearly triple by 2017

pharmafile | August 26, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing GlobalData, acute myeloid leukaemia 

 

British analysts expect the acute myeloid leukaemia market to generate revenues of $430 million by 2017 – nearly three times its current value.

A report by London-based consulting firm GlobalData considered demand for therapies in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain where AML-related revenues totalled $151 million in 2012.

Projected growth in the market is expected to be driven by the introduction of several new treatments for the disease. These include Sunesis’ vosaroxin, Novartis’ PKC412 (midostaurin) and Cycacel’s sapacitabine.

However, the report highlights the fact that bona fide breakthrough drugs are still sorely lacking in the market.

Analyst Cheryl Gradziel, said: “Drug development in this area has been very challenging, as products have shown promise in the early phase, but failed in larger, randomized studies.”

One such failure came in April, when Norwegian biotech company Clavis Pharma reported disappointing results from a late-stage trial of its experimental drug elacytarabine.

The AML market has also seen a high-profile product withdrawal in the form of Pfizer’s Mylotarg (gemtuzumab ozogamicin), which gained FDA approval in 2000, but was taken off shelves in 2010 due to safety concerns.

AML is a rapidly progressing type of blood cancer which most commonly affects people aged 65 or over. The disease causes abnormal white blood cell production in bone marrow, disrupting the body’s natural blood cell balance.

According to the NHS, about 2,300 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK, with men more at risk than women.

There are numerous variations of the disease – the World Health Organization recognises four distinct subgroups, while the French-American-British classification system outlines eight – making treatment complicated.

Gradziel, said: “Although AML is a rare disease, the high levels of unmet needs create ample opportunities for players with effective therapies.”

‘Players’ currently investigating those opportunities include Boehringer Ingelheim, which is conducting a Phase III trial of its new drug BI 6727 (volasertib) and Celator Pharmaceuticals, which raised enough investment to begin a Phase III trial of its CPX-351 (cytarabine/daunorubicin) lipisome injection in May.

Hugh McCafferty

 

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