Datamonitor: Melanoma cases expected to double

NEW YORK Cases of the potentially deadly skin cancer melanoma are expected to almost double before the end of the decade, according to a new report by research firm Datamonitor.

Research by the company indicated that cases of melanoma could go from the 138,000 new cases expected this year to 227,000 by 2019.

“There is real opportunity for drug developers willing to invest in this market,” Datamonitor senior healthcare analyst Tom Gray said. “A significant unmet need remains for more effective drugs, which makes melanoma a popular research target.”

Current cytokines and cytotoxics have response rates of up to 25%, according to the report, which results in the high mortality rate associated with metastatic melanoma, and no breakthroughs with the drugs have been made in the last 30 years. But several treatments are in the pipeline, including Medarex’s and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s MDX-010 (ipilimumab) and PLX-4032, by Roche and Plexxikon.