REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
- Global revenues from biotech-enabled cancer therapies are expected to rise at an AAGR (average annual growth rate) of 14.5% from $15 billion in 2003 to more than $29 billion in 2008.
- The market is being given a strong boost by demographics: cancer risk increases rapidly after age 55, and the baby boom generation is near that marker.
- Biopharmaceuticals used to treat chemotherapy-related conditions, the weakest oncological growth category, is the strongest in terms of absolute sales. This is a fairly mature market whose potential will fade as less toxic cancer treatments are found.
- Recent approvals for Avastin? and Erbitux? will help swell the growth rate of solid tumor biopharmaceutical therapies.
Projected Global Revenues from Biotech-enabled
Cancer Therapies by Application Type, through 2008
($ Millions) 
Source: BCC, Inc.
INTRODUCTION
In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon declared a "War on Cancer" and congress passed the National Cancer Act, committing the nation to putting an end to this collection of dread diseases. More than 30 years later, the incidence of cancer is about the same as it was in 1950 and chances of survival are not much better. For decades, cancer therapy has been dominated by chemotherapy. Unfortunately, for most cancers, chemotherapy does not work very well, if at all. Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer or liver cancer, for example, essentially is a death warrant, and most cancers have poor prognosis unless they are found really early. The recent approvals of biopharmaceuticals like Avastin?, Erbitux? and Herceptin?, all monoclonal antibody drugs, have given hope that the tide finally is turning. Monoclonal antibodies are not the only tricks available in the biotechnology tool chest. It includes protein hormones and cytokines, antisense oligonucleotides, gene therapy,
oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines. Biopharmaceuticals approved so far for oncology indications are of three general types: monoclonal antibodies, colony stimulating factors and peptide hormone analogues. Other biopharmaceuticals, such as oligonucleotides, gene therapies, therapeutic vaccines, or oncolytic viruses have yet to be approved in major markets. The promise of biotechnology finally is being brought to bear on this most problematic of diseases and its many manifestations. It appears, therefore, to be a propitious time to report on therapies being developed and assess the likelihood for success of these new therapies. This BCC report does just that, quantifying historical and projected sales for biopharmaceutical products to treat cancer.
SCOPE OF STUDY
The report:
- Identifies all major biopharmaceuticals that were in clinical trials to treat cancer as of the spring of 2004
- Describes these biopharmaceuticals and their proposed mechanisms of action
- Identifies and profiles companies involved in developing biopharmaceuticals
- Discusses regulatory policies that affect the development of biopharmaceuticals
- Estimates current markets for biopharmaceutical drugs and project future sales five years out, through 2008.
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The information reported herein has been gathered from a variety of industry and other sources. The 10K forms and other SEC filings from public companies have been examined along with annual reports, catalogues, press releases et cetera. Clinical trial information on cancer drugs was retrieved from the OVID database. The World Wide Web is a rich source of information, as almost every commercial concern now has its own web page. Much statistical information was garnered from the American Cancer Society, the Federal government and the World Health Organization. Armed with the industry and statistical information garnered above, market participants have been interviewed as necessary to fill in the gaps of our understanding. @ | 
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