Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics Market in Asia-Pacific Region to Post High Growth to Reach $105.8m by 2020, Reveals New Report

The Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) therapeutics market in the four Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets of Australia, China, India and Japan was worth $49.4m in 2013, and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.5% to $105.8m by 2020. Japan was the largest of these markets in 2013, valued at $23.8m, equivalent to a share of 48%, closely followed by China at $19.7m or 40%. This significant expected growth is due to the probable approval and market entries of Rindopepimut (CDX-110), Cotara (TNT-1) and Avastin (bevacizumab) in some of the APAC regions during the forecast period.

India and Australia have more promising candidates for possible approval in the forecast period than China and Japan. The growth forecast for Japan, however, is still high, even though it has just one candidate in late-stage development that could be approved during the forecast period, due to recent approval of Avastin. Japan is expected to post a high CAGR of 13.8%, second only to India among the APAC countries. The GBM market in India is currently the smallest, estimated at $4.6m in 2013, but is expected to post the highest growth, at a CAGR of 14.4% until 2020. There are four promising GBM drugs in the pipeline in India that could have a significant impact on market growth – Rindopepimut and BIOMAb (nimotuzumab) for newly diagnosed GBM; Avastin and Cotara for treatment in the recurrent setting.

The pipeline presents two promising novel therapies – Rindopepimut and Cotara – that could have a significant bearing on the GBM market in the APAC region. Phase II studies of Rindopepimut demonstrated a relatively high median Overall Survival (OS), and a significant survival benefit when compared to historic controls treated with the standard of care. However, the vaccine is limited to the 30% of GBM patients who are Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) variant (v) III-positive. Phase II studies of Cotara showed similar OS to Avastin, with slightly better Progression Free Survival (PFS) improvement in recurrent GBM. As a single-infusion therapy, Cotara is likely to become a good alternative second-line treatment.

Pipeline Boasts High Diversity of Molecular Targets Despite Setbacks

Several targeted therapies have failed in late-stage development or have shown too little efficacy to be viable therapeutic alternatives. Growth Factor Receptors (GFR) are one of the most prevalent molecular targets in the GBM pipeline. Although EGFR gene amplification is the most common mutation seen in GBM patients, several drugs with EGFR as molecular targets have failed to demonstrate significant efficacy. Drugs that target EGFR but that failed to demonstrate significant benefit in improving median OS or PFS include Tarceva (erlotinib), Erbitux (cetuximab), and Iressa (gefitinib). Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor (VEGFR)-targeting drugs such as Recentin (cediranib) have also experienced some setbacks. Currently, Avastin (bevacizumab) is the only anti-VEGFR agent marketed for GBM. Despite these setbacks, the GBM pipeline consists of a sizeable share of drugs targeting GFRs – 35% – with some of them reaching late-stage development. EGFR inhibitors in the late-stage pipeline include ABT-414, gefitinib, AMG-595, and nimotuzumab. Similarly, 17% of the disclosed pipeline consists of kinases. While the majority of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3K) inhibitors are unable to cross the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB), 22% of the kinases in the GBM pipeline are PI3K inhibitors. PX-866, a PI3K inhibitor developed by Oncothyreon, was discontinued in Phase II development due to low efficacy. BKM-120 (buparlisib hydrochloride) is another PI3K inhibitor currently in Phase II trials for recurrent GBM. The current pipeline consists of a highly diverse set of molecular targets, which may potentially serve as effective treatments in the future.

Promising Future for Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutic Landscape

GBM is the most malignant of gliomas, which are an aggressive type of tumor with very poor prognosis, in spite of the improvements seen with the current standard of care temozolomide. There are very limited therapeutic alternatives currently available for newly diagnosed or recurrent GBM. Existing options include three chemotherapeutic agents – temozolomide, Gliadel Wafer (carmustine in polifeprosan) and BiCNU (carmustine); and Avastin, a monoclonal Antibody (mAb), which is the only approved targeted therapy. Extensive heterogeneity and the presence of the BBB are the two key challenges in the development of efficacious therapeutic options. Many of the existing chemotherapy drugs are hydrophilic and their molecular size is too large to penetrate the BBB and hence not suitable in the treatment of GBM.

There are some strong candidates in the current pipeline that promise to be effective agents in overcoming the BBB. Examples include BIOMAb (nimotuzumab) by Biocon, a mAb and an EGFR antagonist that binds preferentially to the cells overexpressing EGFR and holds promise in its capacity to cross the BBB; and Cotara, a targeted mAb developed by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals that uses Convection-Enhanced Delivery (CED) to overcome the BBB and is in Phase II trials for newly diagnosed GBM; and BKM-120 (buparlisib hydrochloride) developed by Novartis, a PI3K inhibitor in Phase II trials for recurrent GBM with proven ability to penetrate the BBB. Although a cure is not expected in the near future, the late-stage pipeline presents some strong candidates that have the potential to expand the therapeutic alternatives available for GBM.

Spanning over 105 pages, “Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 - Novel Therapeutic Approaches Target High Unmet Need in Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent GBM” report covering the Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Introduction, Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Marketed Products, Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Pipeline, Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Market Forecast to 2020, Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Deals and Strategic Consolidations, Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2020 – Appendix.

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