The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma has increased worldwide. The high prevalence of melanoma among people has increased the demand for drugs used in the treatment of the disease.
Thankfully, pharmaceutical companies have remained on top of their game in this market with several promising drugs in the pipeline, fuelling market growth at a CAGR of 15.4 percent for the 2014-2019 period.
New Promising Drug Pipeline
The melanoma drugs present in the product pipeline have a better safety and efficacy profile and many distinct advantages over the currently marketed drugs and can cater for the unmet medical needs of the patient population.
Melanoma Pipeline Landscape
Some of the pipeline candidates that are expected to be launched during the forecast period are as follows:
Cobimetinib+Zelboraf
Roche and Genentech are collaborating to develop Cobimetinib+Zelboraf for the treatment of CM. The drug candidate is currently in the Phase III stage of development. Compared to the administration of Zelboraf alone, the use of the MEK inhibitor Cobimetinib+Zelboraf resulted in increased life expectancy in people with previously untreated BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma.
Talimogene Laherparepvec
Amgen is developing Talimogene Laherparepvec for the treatment of mid-to-late stage MM. The drug candidate is currently in the Phase III stage of development. A global, randomized, open-labeled trial is being conducted to assess the safety and efficacy profile of intralesional Talimogene Laherparepvec in patients with stage IIIB, IIIC, or IV melanoma.
MAGE-A3
GSK is developing MAGE-A3 for the treatment of resected melanoma. The drug candidate is currently in the Phase III stage of development. The drug contains a purified recombinant MAGE-A3 protein in combination with a novel AS15 adjuvant system developed by GSK.
Emergence of Combination Therapies
Currently, physicians use combination therapies to more effectively treat patients with melanoma. At stage IV of the disease, tumor cells spread from their origin to distant sites, and therefore one single therapy alone cannot be used for treatment.
Cancer cells that are confined locally can be easily treated by surgery or radiation therapy, while cancer cells that have spread to distant sites can be destroyed by chemotherapy. Thus, combination therapies help in the complete removal of tumors and the destruction of cancerous cells.
The BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy is preferred to the BRAF and MEK inhibitor monotherapies because of its improved efficacy, safety, and tolerability in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Medical oncologists in both the US and major countries in Europe prefer Yervoy in combination with Zelboraf or Temodar or generic Dacarbazine in the treatment of advanced melanoma.
