Wyeth’s Mylotarg ‘will help double myeloid leukaemia market’

Mylotarg, the treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia produced by Wyeth, will be a key drug in doubling the market for myeloid leukaemia drugs, according to a new report.

The research from Decision Resources predicts that increased sales of Mylotarg, along with product launches of drugs like Clolar, Cloretazine and Dacogen from Genzyme, Vion and SuperGen/MGI Pharma, will see sales in myeloid leukaemia drugs rise to almost $340 million in 2015, compared to $160 million currently.

Furthermore, as Mylotarg and Clolar become market leaders, the market share of Pfizer’s Zavedos, the current market leader in the UK and US, will become eclipsed.

Jeremy Goldman, an analyst at Decision Resources, commented: “Mylotarg and Clolar will garner shares of 19 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, in 2015 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and their premium pricing will be a key factor in boosting the overall value of the market.”

He concluded by saying that the future of acute myeloid leukaemia treatment could lie in novel targeted agents, like midostaurin, the Novartis drug, designated as an FLT3 inhibitor.

In 2003, the Wyeth research team responsible for the development of Mylotarg won the Discoverers Award from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.