The Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) treatment market will rise dramatically from $198 million in 2014 to $2.29 billion by 2024, representing a high compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.7 per cent, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report states that such impressive growth, which will occur across the seven major markets of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan, will primarily be driven by the launch of premium-priced therapies, including anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapies and targeted agents.

Volkan Gunduz, Ph.D., GlobalData’s analyst covering oncology and hematology, says novel SCLC therapies will experience strong and rapid adoption during the forecast period in combination with generic, chemotherapy-only regimens in the early lines of therapy, and extend the number of lines of treatment available for patients.

Gunduz explains, “The first immunotherapy to market will be the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitor Yervoy. This drug is being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and will be launched in 2016 across the 7MM.

“Yervoy will achieve blockbuster status in the SCLC therapeutics space by 2024, driven by the combination of its premium price and anticipated dosing at a high concentration in combination with platinum-etoposide in extensive-stage SCLC.”

GlobalData’s report also states that SCLC treatment sales will also be bolstered by an increase in rates of the disease across the five European markets (5EU) and Japan, at a CAGR of 1.49 per cent over the forecast period.

Gunduz continues, “While smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer and is still a common practice in Eastern Europe and in developing countries, disease incidence is expected to plateau by 2024. This will occur as the 5EU and Japan follow in the footsteps of the US, where a reduction in cigarette smoking has caused SCLC incidence rates to decrease considerably over the last three decades. In this way, although the SCLC treatment market will thrive in the short term, its impressive growth may not continue beyond this point.”