CANCER THERAPEUTICS GAINING GROUND IN APAC

Cancer, the leading cause of death in most parts of the world, is a veritable Achilles heel for the pharma industry.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Not surprising that pharma companies continue to dedicate a significant part of their R&D budget for Oncology. Cancer medicine spending rose to $185 billion globally in 2021 and is expected to reach more than $300 billion by 2026, as per IQVIA. China’s oncology spending now exceeds the rest of emerging countries and is driven by expanded access to new therapies and offset by lower prices. Chinese and other Asian cancer drug developers are at the forefront of driving innovation in this space. The focus of cancer treatment is rapidly shifting from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach to precision medicine, tailored treatments for individual patients. The next wave of innovations making headlines in the cancer space include immunotherapies, vaccines, CAR-T therapies, PD-1/L1 inhibitors, light-activated drugs etc. Many drug makers in Asia are investing in new science and hope to develop the next holy grail in oncology. Let’s take a deep dive into the status of cancer drug research and development in the Asia Pacific (APAC).

An estimated 8.7 million Asians were afflicted with cancer in 2020. That’s nearly half of all new global cancer cases. It’s no wonder then that the Asia-Pacific region has seen a 138 per cent increase in the number of oncology trials taking place over the past decade, the largest increase for any region worldwide, according to GlobalData.