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IQVIA™ Institute for Human Data Science Releases Global Oncology Trends 2019 Study: Record Number of Cancer Drugs Launched in 2018 across 17 Indications

May 30, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

The 2018 launch of 15 new active substances (NASs) bring the total NAS
launches since 2013 to 57 with 89 approved indications for 23
different tumor types
Within the R&D oncologic pipeline, the most intense activity is for
immunotherapies, with almost 450 in clinical development
A total of 1,170 oncology clinical trials were initiated in 2018, an
increase of 27 percent from 2017 and 68 percent from 2013
More than 700 companies across the globe have oncology drugs in
late-stage development, including 626 emerging biopharma companies and
28 out of the 33 largest pharma companies
Through 2023, compound annual growth in oncology therapeutics spending
is expected to be 11–14 percent bringing total estimated spending to
$200–230 billion worldwide; $220–250 billion when supportive care is
included within the estimate

DANBURY, Conn. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The IQVIA™ Institute for Human Data Science found in its latest report, Global
Oncology Trends 2019: Therapeutics, Clinical Development and Health
System Implications, that in 2018 a record-setting 15 new active
substance (NAS) oncology treatments with 17 indications, including one
tissue-agnostic therapy, launched in the U.S. Those 2018 debuts bring
the total number of new oncology therapeutics launched since 2013 to 57
covering 89 approved indications for 23 different tumor types.

In addition to detailing the influx of new oncology drugs within the R&D
pipeline and marketplace, the Institute report explores health system
barriers hindering the realization of the benefits of those therapies
and drug candidates. The report further notes that despite extensive
pipeline activity, oncology remains the most challenging area for
research and development, facing significant risk of failure and long,
costly development.

“Within oncology therapeutic development, the notable successes and
failures in recent years have furthered our understanding of the
underlying causes of certain cancers, disease progression, and the
potential for novel treatments,” said Murray Aitken, IQVIA senior vice
president and executive director of the IQVIA Institute for Human Data
Science. “However, barriers to adoption of new drugs remain, delaying
patient benefit from treatment advances. As treatment options increase,
the impact on spending levels has become a focus across most parts of
the world – a trend that is expected to continue during the next five
years as growth continues.”

Additional highlights of the Global Oncology Trends 2019 report
include:

Innovation in patient therapies: A record of 15 new treatments
and one supportive care therapy were launched in 2018, adding a
diverse group of therapeutic options with 17 indications across nine
tumor types – 11 of the 15 are oral therapies. These 2018 launches
increase the total NASs launched over the past five years to 57, which
collectively have 89 approved indications for 23 different cancer
types. Thirty-one percent of the approved indications during the last
five years have been for hematologic cancers – leukemia, lymphoma and
multiple myeloma – while lung cancer leads the solid tumors with 12
indications among the 89, followed by breast cancer and melanoma with
seven and six indications respectively. The introduction of
immunotherapies in 2014, and their subsequent approvals across
multiple indications, drove a surge in use by oncologists who treated
more than 200,000 patients with immunotherapies in the U.S. in 2018 –
double the number of patients treated in 2016.
Research and development activities: Within the clinical
pipeline, activity is most intense for the nearly 450 immunotherapies
currently in development, which are identified with more than 60
different mechanisms of action (MOA). At the same time there are more
than 100 next-generation biotherapeutics – defined as cell, gene, and
nucleotide therapies – in clinical trials focusing on 18 different
MOAs. More than 700 companies are driving activity in the oncology
pipeline and its late stage development, including 626 emerging
biopharma companies almost 500 of which are solely focused on
oncology. The largest pharmaceutical companies in the world are also
actively pursuing new oncology therapies, with 28 of the top 33 big
pharma companies developing anti-cancer molecules.
Bringing scientific advances to cancer patients: New oncology
drugs launched in 2018 took a median of 10.5 years from the time of
first patent filing to regulatory approval and launch, an acceleration
of more than four years from the 2017 level. Last year, for an
oncology therapy with breakthrough status, the average interval from
first patent filing to launch was 10.1 years compared to the average
for all other therapy areas of 18 years. Despite these trends, access
to recently launched oncology medicines by patients living outside
large developed countries remains low, with fewer than half of new
cancer medicines available to patients beyond nine countries.
Spending on oncology medicines: Spending on all medicines used
in the treatment of patients with cancer worldwide reached nearly $150
billion in 2018 up 12.9 percent for the year and marking the fifth
consecutive year of double-digit growth, entirely driven by
therapeutic drugs which grew 15.9 percent, as supportive care drugs
declined 1.5 percent last year. New brands and protected brand volume
contributed nearly all positive growth in major developed markets,
resulting in double-digit growth in most countries or regions. Within
the United States, spending on cancer drugs has doubled since 2013 and
exceeded $56 billion in 2018, with more than $9 billion in growth
coming from the use of new PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The average annual
cost of new medicines has been trending up for the past two decades,
but the median cost dropped $13,000 in 2018 to $149,000, and ranged
between $90,000 and more than $300,000.

The full version of the report, including a detailed description of the
study methodology, is available at www.IQVIAInstitute.org.
The study was produced independently as a public service, without
industry or government funding.

About the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science

The IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science contributes to the
advancement of human health globally through timely research, insightful
analysis, and scientific expertise applied to granular non-identified
patient-level data.

Fulfilling an essential need within healthcare, the Institute delivers
objective, relevant insights and research that accelerate understanding
and innovation critical to sound decision-making and improved human
outcomes. With access to IQVIA’s institutional knowledge, advanced
analytics, technology, and unparalleled data, the Institute works in
tandem with a broad set of healthcare stakeholders to drive a research
agenda focused on human data science, including government agencies,
academic institutions, the life sciences industry, and payers. More
information about the IQVIA Institute can be found at www.IQVIAInstitute.org.

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) is a leading global provider of advanced analytics,
technology solutions, and contract research services to the life
sciences industry. Formed through the merger of IMS Health and
Quintiles, IQVIA applies human data science — leveraging the analytic
rigor and clarity of data science to the ever-expanding scope of human
science — to enable companies to reimagine and develop new approaches to
clinical development and commercialization, speed innovation and
accelerate improvements in healthcare outcomes. Powered by the IQVIA
CORE™, IQVIA delivers unique and actionable insights at the intersection
of large-scale analytics, transformative technology and extensive domain
expertise, as well as execution capabilities. With more than 58,000
employees, IQVIA conducts operations in more than 100 countries.

IQVIA is a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy. The
company uses a wide variety of privacy-enhancing technologies and
safeguards to protect individual privacy while generating and analyzing
information on a scale that helps healthcare stakeholders identify
disease patterns and correlate with the precise treatment path and
therapy needed for better outcomes. IQVIA’s insights and execution
capabilities help biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical companies,
medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare
stakeholders tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human
behaviors, and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path
toward cures. To learn more, visit www.iqvia.com.

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