Hunt for Novel Cancer Treatment Options and Rise of T-Cell Immunotherapies
Cancer is known to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for more than 600,000 deaths in 2018 in the US alone. As per the recent reports by, the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of new cancer cases globally is expected to rise by 70% in the coming 20 years. Despite cancer being one of the most active areas in terms of drug development, there is still a significant unmet need in this space.
Problems with available treatment options and the rise of immunotherapies
Conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy, have demonstrated very limited efficacy in late-stage cancers. Specifically, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also associated with several side effects. Their non-specific nature has severe detrimental effects on the patients’ quality of life.
Amidst the current initiatives to develop more targeted anti-cancer therapies, immunotherapy has emerged as a highly potent option to selectively eliminate tumor cells with minimal side effects. Immunotherapies essentially make use of the body’s own immune system, or its components, to fight cancer. It is a relatively new concept, currently having achieved pharmacological success with targeted antibody-based therapeutics, including monoclonal and conjugated antibodies. However, over the years, a number of different classes of immunotherapies have emerged for the management and treatment of cancer; these include therapeutic cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, cytokines, immune checkpoint inhibitors and certain whole cell-based therapies (adoptive cell therapies). These immunotherapies offer several key advantages.
The increasing popularity of immunotherapies, especially T-cell therapies, on social media platforms
An exponential increase in the number of tweets featuring the terms T-cell immunotherapy, CAR-T therapy, TCR therapy and TIL therapy was observed on Twitter; the number has increased from around 80 tweets in 2012 to around 7,406 tweets between 2017 to 2018.
With two approved therapies and close to 650 clinical/preclinical product candidates, the T-cell immunotherapy pipeline has evolved significantly over the past few years
Presently, T-cell immunotherapies are primarily being designed to treat various cancer indications, specifically hematological malignancies, and solid tumors.
CAR-T Therapies lead the T-cell immunotherapy space
In the last 10 years, over 450 clinical trials, evaluating various types of CAR-T therapies, were registered across different geographies.
Other types of T-cell therapies are also gaining traction
Apart from CAR-T, TCR and TIL-based products, there are several other types of T-cell therapies under development for the treatment of oncological and non-oncological indications
A positive outlook from industry stakeholders is driving the growth of T-cell therapies market
With a promising development pipeline and encouraging clinical results, the market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of over 40% during the next decade. As new blockbuster therapies emerge, we expect the market to spread across different geographical regions; several key / emerging players will tap the growing opportunity.
About the Author
Rohit Kumar leads the analysis team at Roots Analysis. With expertise in market forecasting and opportunity assessment, He and his team are constantly on the lookout for technologies/initiatives, which are likely to change the future of the healthcare industry in the mid-long term.
Originally published at https://www.rootsanalysis.com.
