Summary
Breast cancer is the second most common malignancy in women after skin cancer and accounts for one in three cancers diagnosed.
In 2005 the American Cancer Society estimates that over 211,240 women (1,690 in men) in the US will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 40,870 will die from the disease. An estimated 15 million women seek medical treatment each year due to breast cancer, resulting in 1.3 million biopsies - the vast majority of which prove to be benign.
It is estimated that there are over 40 breast cancer drugs in clinical development or under review by the FDA. Hormonal therapy has proved the cornerstone for breast cancer treatment and several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have invested in optimising current regimes although the development of novel classes of drugs are just beginning to emerge in the market.
Key points
Sales of breast cancer drugs generated US$6.2 billion sales in 2004 making it the largest segment in oncology.
Research has concentrated on optimising current drug regimes.
Limited advances have been made with novel drug classes providing opportunities for new drugs.
Questions answered:
Patients living with breast cancer will increase by 20% by 2012 - why?
What are the prospects for the 7 anti-angiogenesis agents in clinical development such as lapatinib (GSK), Avastin (Genentech/Roche) and Iressa (AstraZeneca)?
How will epothilone antagonists change the face of the breast cancer treatment market?
What are the forecast sales of ixabepilone (BMS), Omnitarg (Genentech/Roche/OSI) and arzoxifene (Eli Lilly)?
What future drugs will threaten the dominance of current hormone therapies?
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