Global oncology market set to continue double-digit growth to $75-$80B by 2012

With the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting - where major advances in cancer treatment are expected to be presented - just around the corner, a new report from IMS Health projecting strong growth for the sector is both welcome and opportune.

Global sales of cancer drugs will grow at a compounded annual rate of 12% to 15%, reaching $75.0 to $80.0 billion by 2012, according to IMS Health, a leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and health care industries. The rate of increase for oncology products will be nearly double the forecasted expansion of the global pharmaceutical market, which advanced at a 6.4% pace in 2007.

Contributing to the worldwide growth is the increasing number of cancer patients on chemotherapy in Europe, Japan and North America, and evidence that more patients in the emerging markets are gaining access to modern targeted therapies. IMS also predicts in its annual forecast that growth will moderate over the next five years, reflecting financial constraints of payers, tapering growth of current blockbusters, fewer new blockbuster medications, and the loss of exclusivity of four cancer drugs with annual sales exceeding $1.0 billion. In 2008, sales of oncology products will exceed $48.0 billion, contributing nearly 17% of global pharmaceutical revenue growth this year.