Cancer remains a significant area of research for the medical community, and over the years, numerous drugs have been developed to combat it.

Some have seen significant success, helping to increase life expectancy or improve the quality of life for thousands of people worldwide. However, there have been several instances where a promising cancer drug has suddenly disappeared from the market, with no explanation given for its removal.

This article examines some of the notable cases of unexplained disappearance of promising cancer drugs and the reasons behind them.

Immunotherapy Drugs for Cancer Treatment

Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising way to treat cancer by enhancing patients’ immune systems’ ability to identify and attack cancer cells. However, several immunotherapy drugs have disappeared from the market in recent years.

One such drug is Roche’s PDL1-blocking cancer immunotherapy, MPDL3280A, which showed promising results in early clinical trials for several cancers, including bladder, lung, and breast. However, the drug disappeared from the market after Roche had reportedly halted development, saying it needed to focus on other drugs in its pipeline.

Another example is a combination of immunotherapy drugs, BMS-986016, and Opdivo, which were being tested in various clinical trials before their disappearance from the market. The reasons for their sudden removal are still unknown.

Prostate cancer oral chemotherapy

In 2013, a promising oral chemotherapy drug for patients with metastatic prostate cancer called custirsen was removed from the market without any explanation.

Custirsen was developed by OncoGenex and was designed to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy. It had been tested alongside docetaxel chemotherapy in a phase three clinical trial that showed a significant 35% reduction in the chances of the disease worsening.

However, the drug was eventually pulled without warning, with no further announcement made. Since then, the company has gone bankrupt and has been acquired by a different company, highlighting the precarious nature of drug development and how the loss of investment can lead to promising drugs being abandoned.

Precision Medicine Drugs

Precision medicine is the use of a patient’s genetic make-up to develop customized treatments, and it has seen several promising cancer drugs emerge, only to disappear suddenly.

One such drug is GSK’s lapatinib, which received FDA approval in 2007 and was hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. However, the drug never showed significant results and was removed from the market in 2017.

Another example is Bayer’s larotrectinib, which gained approval in 2018 and was delivering “dramatic and durable” responses among several cancer patients who possessed a rare gene fusion called TRK. However, Bayer suddenly withdrew the drug in 2020, citing concerns over the FDA’s latest cancer drugs guidelines. There were many skeptical comments from oncologists and patients about the reason for the withdrawal but no official statement.

Demand For Quick Results In Drug Development

One of the reasons behind the sudden disappearance of promising cancer drugs is the high demand for quick results by investors and pharmaceutical companies.

Due to the riskiness of drug development and the high costs involved, investors expect a return on their investment in a limited time. Combined with the high demand for new cancer treatments, pharmaceutical companies face constant pressure to produce profitable drugs quickly.

This pressure often results in companies focusing their resources on drugs that appear to be showing immediate results, abandoning promising treatments that require more time, money, and resources to develop.

Regulatory Hurdles

Regulations are an essential part of protecting the public’s health and ensuring that drugs are safe and effective before going to market.

However, they can also pose significant hurdles for pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs, particularly in relation to cancer treatment. For example, several FDA-approved cancer drugs have been under scrutiny recently for their safety profiles.

In 2018, the FDA lifted its clinical hold on Bellicum’s BPX-501, citing a possible association between the drug and a patient’s death. Similarly, the FDA placed a clinical hold on the trials of Celgene’s JCAR015 in 2015 after several cases of fatal brain swelling were reported.

These regulatory hurdles can be costly and time-consuming, leading companies to abandon or pull their drugs from the market, even after approval.

The Financial Viability of Some Treatments

The cost of cancer treatment is a significant issue for patients worldwide, and it is one of the main concerns for pharmaceutical companies operating in this sector.

For some promising cancer drugs, the cost of development may result in the decision to abandon a treatment despite its potential. For example, Iclusig, a drug developed by Ariad Pharmaceuticals to treat a type of leukemia, was approved by the FDA in 2012. However, it was withdrawn from the market in 2013 due to potential safety concerns.

It was eventually relaunched with a label warning of the risks involved, but the drug’s high cost means that it is not accessible to all patients in need.

Closure

In conclusion, the sudden disappearance of promising cancer drugs from the market remains a significant problem. It is a complex issue with numerous factors contributing to it.

From regulatory hurdles to financial viability to investor demand for quick results, these reasons often result in the abandonment of potentially lifesaving cancer treatments. For patients suffering from cancer, it is essential to continue raising awareness of these issues and advocating for greater investment in the development of new cancer treatments.

As the fight against cancer continues, it is crucial to ensure that promising drugs are not abandoned due to the challenges of drug development and implementation.