Pancreatic Cancer Therapeutics - Competitive Landscape, Epidemiology Forecast, and Pipeline Analysis, 2019

Pancreatic cancer results in the development of malignant cells in the pancreas, which leads to the formation of tumor. The tumor can be further categorized into exocrine tumor and endocrine tumor. Endocrine tumors, also known as islet cell tumors or neuroendocrine tumors, are less common and are often benign. Whereas, exocrine tumors or adenocarcinomas forms in the pancreatic ducts. Some of the risk factors associated with the development of pancreatic cancer include chronic inflammation of the pancreas, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and family history of pancreatic cancer.

The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult as it does not show any symptoms during early stages. However, jaundice, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and pain in the upper abdomen that spreads to the back are some of the symptoms associated with the occurrence of pancreatic cancer. Blood tests, kidney function tests, and an ultrasound scan of the abdomen are performed upon the suspicion of pancreatic cancer. Whereas, computerized tomography (CT), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and a biopsy are done to confirm the diagnosis and the stage of the pancreatic cancer.

Moreover, the treatment of pancreatic cancer is also difficult due to the fact that it is often detected late and spreads quickly to the nearby organs. Possible treatments may include surgery, chemo-therapy, radiation therapy or a combination of these. In additions, there are few medications available to treat pancreatic cancer which include Abraxane (Abraxis BioScience LLC) and Tarceva (Astellas Pharma Inc.).

Various number of drug manufacturers are actively involved in the development of pancreatic cancer therapeutics. For instance, in August 2017, Hutchison MediPharma Limited completed a multi-center, open-label, Phase Ib/II clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of sufatinib in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors. Surufatinib showed encouraging anti-tumor activity and manageable 22 toxicities in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors.

Positive clinical trial results and collaborations are enhancing pancreatic cancer therapeutics pipeline. Moreover, the issuance of patents helps in achieving different milestones in the form of grants and designations from the regulatory bodies and institutes, including the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among others.

Pipeline Analysis

Currently, the pancreatic cancer therapeutics pipeline comprises 144 drugs in different stages of development.

Epidemiology Analysis

The report provides epidemiology forecast of pancreatic cancer for seven major markets (7MM), which includes the U.S., Japan, and EU5 countries (the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain). It covers prevalent population and treated patient population for the period 2016–2028. The incident cases of pancreatic cancer in the 7MM are expected to increase from 151,381 cases in 2016 to 179,629 by 2028.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the key players involved in the development of pancreatic cancer therapeutics include Astellas Pharma Inc., Hutchison MediPharma Limited, Abraxis BioScience LLC, AstraZeneca PLC, Merck & Co. Inc., Eleison Pharmaceuticals LLC, Rafa Laboratories Ltd., Novartis AG, Ipsen Pharma, and Pfizer Inc.

Report Insights

Some highlights of the report, “Pancreatic Cancer Therapeutics - Competitive Landscape, Epidemiology Forecast, and Pipeline Analysis, 2019”, include:

• Detailed pipeline analysis of therapeutics candidates, which are being developed for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, estimates and analyzes the emerging therapies and their progress status in different phases of development
• Comprehensive insights into pipeline phase products, with special focus on strategic development activities, inclusive of collaboration and licensing information, drug designations, financing, grants, technological advancements, patents, and upcoming conferences
• Competitive analysis and extensive information on monotherapies, combination therapies, targets and mechanism of action, and drug origin with relevance to pancreatic cancer
• Epidemiology forecast of pancreatic cancer for seven major markets (referred to as 7MM in the report), which include the U.S., Japan, and EU5 countries
• Analysis of marketed products for the treatment of pancreatic cancer
• Detailed regulatory framework for drug approval in the U.S., Europe, and Japan
• Key winning strategies of the companies involved in the pancreatic cancer therapeutics development, followed by Pharma Proff’s views.