An analysis of FDA-approved drugs for oncology

Abstract

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death globally. The number of new medicines targeting cancer has grown impressively since the 1990s. On average, ten new drugs are introduced each year. Such growth has partly been achieved by emphasizing biologics and orphan indications, which account for one-quarter and one-half of new oncology drugs, respectively. The biotechnology industry likewise has become the primary driver of cancer drug development in terms of patents, preclinical and clinical research, although pharmaceutical companies are granted more FDA approvals. Many targeting strategies have been successful but recent trends suggest that kinase targets, although tractable, might be overemphasized.