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Innovation in the immuno-oncology sector has created a race towards a crucial treatment of cancer and is set to raise the brain tumor diagnosis and therapeutic market.
The work being done by companies searching for treatments of brain cancer has proven extremely difficult. This year alone has seen a number of mistrials in promising cancer therapies. However, companies are still developing their candidates and hope to capitalize on the unmet needs of patients.
While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been supportive of novel therapies in this sector – since its patient population is in such high need– it has not been less critical of trials in the immuno-oncology sector.
That being said, a report published in January 2017 indicated the brain tumor diagnosis and the therapeutic market would be worth nearly $773.1 million by the year 2025.
Market to get a boom thanks in large part from molecular diagnosis
The report, called “Brain Tumor Diagnosis And Therapeutics Market Analysis By Type, By Region, And Segment Forecasts,” said research into molecular diagnostics related to genetic mutations with malignancy will drive up the growth of this sector.
“On the other hand, high cost of diagnosing brain tumors, which ranges from USD 450 to 12,200, is likely to hinder the growth of the global brain tumor diagnosis market,” the report noted.
As of 2015, over 45 percent of the global brain tumor diagnosis and the therapeutic market came from the US. Investors may want to seek biotech companies developing drugs for this region as it could provide the most upside, which the Investing News Network (INN) has previously covered as it relates to emerging regions experiencing a rush of medical development thanks to new standards of care.
Potential new therapies treating brain cancer
More recently INN reported on Medicenna Therapeutics’ (TSX:MDNA; OTCQX:MDNAF) novel candidate MDNA55, which could skip phase 3 if the FDA deems its phase 2 data successful enough.
While talking about the complicated nature of treating brain cancer, the CEO of Medicenna Therapeutics, Dr. Fahar Merchant, explained the most important thing to target with these drugs, is the system that hides tumors from the body’s immune system.
Dr. Merchant argued this point of view, which boosts the profile of their candidate’s approach, evades the problem many current long-term treatments face.
“[U]nlike drugs that are taken in pill form or by intravenous (IV) injection, our drug will be able to bypass the blood-brain barrier completely,” Merchant told INN.
In September, the FDA approved Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Allergan plc. (NYSE:AGN) combined candidate MVASI as a treatment for various cancer types. In addition to those treatments hinted at treatments of Glioblastoma in combination with chemotherapy.
“MVASI is indicated for the treatment of glioblastoma, as a single agent for adult patients with progressive disease following prior therapy,” Amgen and Allergan said. “The effectiveness of bevacizumab products in glioblastoma is based on an improvement in objective response rate.”
Continuing with the focus on glioblastoma, a report released in mid-November of this year, “Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Market Size & Forecast And Trend Analysis, 2014 – 2024,” said companies are concentrating on molecular biotechnology research and development, linked more akin to gene therapy.
“This advancement may provide an improvement in innovative possibilities for effective treatment of GBM over the forecast period,” the report indicated.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
