PD1/PDL1 Inhibitors Pipeline Analysis

• Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the kind of drugs which blocks some proteins made by certain types of cells of the immune systems, such as T cells and some cancer cells.

As the name suggests, the proteins help to keep the immune responses under check and monitor the T cells from killing the cancer cells. When the proteins are blocked, the trigger to kill the cancer cells is provided. The

• binding of PD-L1 to PD-1 keeps T cells from dying tumor cells in the body. Drugs that block these pathways are currently utilized for a various type of malignancies and have demonstrated stable clinical activities in a subset of cancer patients.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors appear to extend an advantage compared with conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy and generate high response rates, healthy response.
• Safety with the new therapies is of concern since the immune system is being suppressed by cancer and the immune checkpoint inhibitors are turning the suppressed immune system. PD-1 and PD-L1 are the most widely studied and recognized inhibitory checkpoint pathways.
• The immune checkpoint inhibitors such as ipilimumab, Opdivo (nivolumab) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda), nivolumab (Bavencio), duralumin (Imfinzi), were approved by FDA and are indicated for the treatment of squamous non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic melanoma, respectively.
• Manufacturers continue to seek new indications for these drugs. Several anti-PD-1 other medicines are in late-stage clinical trials and are expected to achieve the regulatory approval shortly.
• Moreover, the anti-PD-L1, an antibody that targets the tumor cells rather than the T cells is also being studied and tested. The continued rise and impact of immuno-oncology has mainly been centered on the PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors, which have broad efficacy across solid tumors and are used across 23 different tumor types. Analysis of the PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor pipeline revealed 41 unique molecules in clinical development by pharmaceutical industries, and among them, 12% are bispecific molecules. 
• A maximum number of the molecules are antibody fusion proteins or recombinant antibodies, but also include some other treatment modalities, like small molecules, RNAi, peptide. Products like BDC100 from Biocad, KN035 from Alphamab are in phase 3 stage of development, CX-072 of CytomX is in step 2, AMP-224 evolved out of AstraZeneca, GSK collaboration is in Phase 1 stage of development. The enhanced use of a combination of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors represent a new wave of immunotherapeutic, which is expected to modify the standard of care for cancer across the globe.
• The tremendous growth of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors market is expected due to an aging population, growing urban population, growth in GNI per capita, increasing the incidence of certain types of cancer, the rise in the diagnostic population with cancer, etc. Despite the prevalence of these drivers, the market faces some challenges such as high cost of oncology treatment, failure of clinical trials, side effects and toxicity, time consuming and unpredictable regulatory process, etc.
• Surge in prevalence of cancer across geographies, high demand for ideal therapeutics for cancer treatment, favorable reimbursement policies offered by manufacturers & insurance providers in some countries, and rise in awareness of checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cancer due to positive results are the significant factors driving the growth of the global immune checkpoint inhibitors market.