Oncology Drugs Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2032

This report describes and explains the oncology drugs market and covers 2017-2022, termed the historic period, and 2022-2027 termed the forecast period, along with further forecasts for the period 2027-2032. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global oncology drugs market grew from $223.34 billion in 2022, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 % since 2017. The market is expected to grow from $223.34 billion in 2022 to $318.31 billion in 2027 at a rate of 7.3 %. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2027 and reach $445.23 billion in 2032.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the rapid growth in elderly population, strong economic growth in emerging markets, increased healthcare expenditure, increased number of approvals for hematology/oncology (cancer) drugs, increase in pharmaceutical R&D expenditure, advances in cancer drug discovery and revised FDA regulations to facilitate biologics drug development. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were patent expiration of drugs, pricing pressures from regulators, challenges due to regulatory changes, low healthcare access, COVID-19 impact and adverse effects of drugs.

Going forward, an increase in cancer incidence rate, a rise in healthcare expenditure, increasing older population, strong pipeline of drugs, high potential of emerging economies and rising pollution and environmental changes will drive the market growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the oncology drugs market in the future include the high costs of drugs, expiry of major drugs patents, rise in interest rates, rising popularity of alternative therapies and natural remedies, high cost of drug development with threat of failure and Russia-Ukraine war impact.

The oncology drugs market is segmented by type into lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, kidney cancer, brain tumor, thyroid cancer, skin cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, blood cancer and other oncology drugs. The blood cancer was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by type, accounting for $43.47 billion or 19.5% of the total market in 2022. The ovarian cancer market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 18.5%.

The oncology drugs market is also segmented by distribution channel into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies/drug stores and other distribution channels. The hospital pharmacies was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by distribution channel, accounting for $123.10 billion or 55.1% of the total market in 2022. The other distribution channel market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 7.9%.

The oncology drugs market is also segmented by mode of purchase into prescription-based drugs, and over-the-counter drugs. The prescription-based drugs was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by mode of purchase, accounting for $207.92 billion or 93.1% of the total market in 2022. The prescription-based drugs market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 7.4%.

The oncology drugs market is also segmented by route of administration into oral, parental and other route of administration. The oral was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by route of administration, accounting for $123.50 billion or 55.3% of the total market in 2022. The oral market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 7.6%.

The oncology drugs market is segmented by drug classification into branded drugs and generic drugs. The branded drugs was the largest segment of the oncology drugs market by drug classification, accounting for $189.35 billion or 84.8% of the total market in 2022. The generic drugs market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 8.2%.

North America was the largest region in the oncology drugs market, accounting for 43.2% of the global market in 2022. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and the other regions. Going forward, the fastest growing regions in the oncology drugs market will be Middle East and the South America, where growth will be at CAGRs of 12.61% and 10.39% respectively from 2022-2027.

The global oncology drugs market is concentrated, with a few large players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 70.25% of the total market in 2021. The market concentration can be attributed to the high barriers to entry in terms of high costs associated with the research and development of oncology drugs and the stringent regulations set up by the regulatory authorities. Going forward the market is expected to experience further consolidation with the rising number of mergers and collaboration amongst the major players in the market. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Limited was the largest competitor with 13.67% share of the market, followed by F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG with 10.47%, Merck & Co. Inc. with 9.52%, Novartis AG with 7.75%, Johnson & Johnson with 7.29%, AstraZeneca PLC with 6.53%, Pfizer Inc. with 6.18%, AbbVie Inc. with 3.62%, Astellas Pharma with 2.79%, and Amgen with 2.43%.

The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market by type will arise in the blood cancer market, which will gain $18.0 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market by distribution channel will arise in the hospital pharmacies market, which will gain $49.8 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market by mode of purchase will arise in prescription-based drugs market, which will gain $88.6 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market by route of administration will arise in oral market, which will gain $54.5 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the oncology drugs market by drug classification will arise in branded drugs market, which will gain $78.5 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The oncology drugs market size will gain the most in the USA at $31.8 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the oncology drugs market include investment in artificial intelligence for oncology drugs, development of next generation biologics, innovation in patient therapies (new active substances), CRISPR-CAS9 technology use in cancer treatment, expansion of cell and gene therapy & CAR-T approvals, development of personalized cancer vaccines, microneedle pills, rising focus on immunotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, development of innovative drugs to treat hematopoietic cancers, collaboration driving innovation and rising focus on targeted therapy.

Player-adopted strategies in the oncology drugs industry include strengthening oncology drugs business through approvals for the use of combination of oncology drugs for the treatment of various cancers, strengthening oncology drugs business by getting approvals of drugs in different geographical region, strengthening product portfolio by new drug approvals and also strengthening research and development for oncology pharmaceuticals by strategic collaborations, strengthening oncology portfolio through strategic collaborations and new drug approval and aiming at expanding the oncology drugs portfolio with the new drug approvals and launch of new oncology drugs in the market and product in pipeline for cancer treatment.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the publisher recommends the oncology drugs companies to focus on development of next generation biologics, focus on expansion of cell and gene therapy and CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) approvals, focus on immunotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, focus on development of innovative drugs to treat hematopoietic cancers, use artificial intelligence in drug development, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on partnerships and collaborations, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, participate in medicine seminars and conferences, continue to use B2B promotions, target aging population and focus on patients with fast- growing cancer types.