Gene Therapy Market "Will Emerge in 1997"

The gene therapy market will finally emerge in 1997, and by the year 2000 will be producing global revenues of $2.6 billion, according to a new study from Frost & Sullivan. By that time, around 48% of sales will be in cancer treatments, with 30% represented by treatments for genetic diseases, 11% for viral diseases and 7% for anemias, it forecasts.

By 1997, treatments could be on the market for certain brain tumors, and by 2000 these could be joined by products for malignant melanoma, leukemia and kidney, breast, colorectal, liver, prostate, ovarian, lung and bladder cancers.

In viral diseases, the study notes that research is concentrating on AIDS treatments, and forecasts that besides these products the therapy most likely to reach the market by 2000 addresses cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompromised patients.