Small Molecule Targeted Cancer Therapy Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

The global small molecule targeted cancer therapy is expected to be a lucrative market due to its high adoption rates, minimal adverse effects, and high incidence rates of cancer. Patent expiration of the known drug, Glivec of Novartis, is expected to act as an opportunity for manufacturers of target release drugs. The mechanism of action is by blocking cancerous cell growth. Chemotherapies and conventional cytotoxic medications work by destroying the cells that are rapidly dividing, but the small molecule targeted cancer therapy will destroy cancer cells with high precision and few side effects. Various types of cancers that are multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, melanoma, lymphoma, and breast cancer are treated by this targeted therapy. International Society of Nurse in Cancer Care has developed ISNCC nurse- Led Small Molecule Chemotherapy Patient Education Program, sponsored by Glaxo Smith Kline, to increase the adherence and self-care capacity of patients receiving small molecule therapy. Small molecules can penetrate the interstices of a tumor and target intra-cellular signaling protein. Purity and identification of small molecule target cancer cells can be ensured due to chemical synthesis, purification, and molecular characterization methods making them easy to reproduce. Antibodies are administered intravenously, while small molecules can be orally administered. Small molecules, if successful can be an alternative to the antibodies in cancer immunotherapy. This molecule triggers the immune system by targeting the indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) pathway.

Small molecule targeted cancer therapy market is classified as small molecules, small molecule drug conjugates, and monoclonal antibodies. The small molecules are sub-divided as small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (imatinib), small molecule cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (seliciclib), and small molecule proteasome inhibitor (bortezomib). Monoclonal antibodies can be further segmented into humanized monoclonal antibody (with a circulatory system target), fully human antibody (with an immune system target), chimeric monoclonal antibody (with a tumor target), and humanized monoclonal antibody (with a circulatory system target). Out of these, Kinase inhibitor has the highest market due to higher protection and effective destruction of cancer cells offered by them, leading to prevention of tumor growth. There are 11 kinase inhibitors approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of cancer.

Geographically, North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific are expected to experience dominance of Small molecule targeted cancer therapy market. North America is anticipated to lead due to the increasing incidences of cancer. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) claims the diagnosis of 13 million new cancer cases worldwide. The World Cancer Report provides that the incidence rate of new cancer cases is expected to increase by 50% to 15 million by 2020. Compared to monoclonal antibodies, small molecules are convenient to administer and less expensive. Unlike monoclonal antibodies, small molecules can be developed to target any cell location. Inefficient delivery into brain tissues because of the blood–brain barrier is due to the large molecular weight of mAbs, so therapeutic mAbs for brain cancer are usually delivered intra-tumorally. According to the FDA, the half life of monoclonal antibodies like cetuximab (3.1-7.8 days) is much longer than those of small-molecule agents like gefitinib (48 hours). ONT-380 manufactured by oncothyreon, is more efficient than commercially available lapatinib (small molecule). Lapatinib block both HER2 and EGFR leading to rashes and diarrhea, which are overcome by ONT-380 due to specific HER2 targeting.

Key players of the small molecule targeted cancer therapy market are Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Abbott Laboratories, Cytokinetics Inc., Bayer HealthCare AG, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Hospira Inc., and GlaxoSmithKline PLC. The key strategies adopted by the companies to be at the forefront are agreements and collaborations, product launches, and mergers and acquisitions. These strategies will lead to newer products and technological augmentation, with regulatory support leading to customer satisfaction. In May 2015, BeiGene, a Chinese company banked USD 97 million to get its cancer drugs in clinic, which are a la ibrutinib, BRAF inhibitor, and poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. Moreover, Boehringer Ingelheim has alliances with Vanderbilt University to develop new rennin-angiotensin system (Ras) inhibitors. The Swiss Biotech Association listed four pipeline molecules of ARAID pharmaceuticals, which are AP1903, AP26113, ridaforolimus, and ponatinib. All these development and advancement is expected to grow the small molecule targeted cancer therapy market over the forecast period.