US review "slowing patient access to new melanoma therapies"

The incidence of melanoma is climbing annually, particularly in youngadults. Surgery is successful with early detection, but the risk of recurrence in other patients is high and the chances of survival in those with advanced disease is bleak, says a new study from Frost & Sullivan.

The report forecasts that the US market for chemotherapeutics to treat melanoma could rise from $20.3 million in 2000 to $119.8 million in 2007, while sales of immunotherapeutics for the disease are projected to rise from $68.7 million to $973.4 million over the same period.

There is a growing need for new drugs that prevent relapse, slow disease progression and improve survival rates, and to do so with minimal side effects, says F&S. The trend towards immunotherapeutics, which are more target-specific and therefore elicit fewer and less severe side effects than conventional chemotherapeutics, will play a dominant role in the expected transformation of the melanoma market over the next 10 years, it adds.