China’s gastric cancer drug market to triple by 2012, says report

According to the new Emerging Markets report, this growth will be fueled by increased access to health insurance and greater patient spending power, leading to increased usage of targeted therapies. Additionally, the prevalence of gastric cancer in China is said to be among the highest in the world. In 2007, approximately 392,000 cases were diagnosed in China, and it is forecasted that the indication population will grow 2.3% per year between 2007 and 2012.

The report also finds that Jiangsu Simcere’s Endostar and Merck KGaA’s Erbitux are the targeted therapies prescribed most often by Chinese physicians for the treatment of gastric cancer. These new targeted therapies will be prescribed to a greater percentage of the eligible population in China than in the past, benefiting from increased physician familiarity and better efficacy and toxicity profiles than conventional chemotherapy agents. More importantly, surveyed physicians anticipate that some targeted therapies will be included in the National Reimbursement Drug List by 2012, significantly increasing patient accessibility to these drugs.

Victor Li, analyst at Decision Resources, said: “The Chinese government plans to insure close to 100% of the Chinese population by 2010 through three government-sponsored insurance schemes: Basic Medical Insurances, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance and new Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme. These initiatives will increase gastric cancer diagnosis and drug-treatment rates in China and present an opportunity for multinational companies to reach a larger patient population.”