• Global market for FRα-targeted therapy in cancer is expected to increase from $3 million in 2022 to $921 million in 2029, with a CAGR of 126.7%
• ImmunoGen’s Elahere is at the forefront of the race in terms of development and is the only FRα therapy approved in the oncology field
• The increasing competition in this space is expected to contribute to continued innovation, leading to the development of more effective FRα-targeted therapies

With the development of new agents targeting folate receptor alpha (FRα), the market for FRα-targeted cancer therapies is projected to grow significantly in the coming years.  As the global market for FRα-targeted therapy in cancer is expected to increase from $3 million in 2022 to $921 million in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 126.7%, competition is set to intensify in the space, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Verona Morina, Oncology and Hematology Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Over the next decade, a significant transformation in the clinical and commercial aspects of FRα-targeted therapy is expected. This shift will be driven by the increased clinical adoption supported by enhanced physician knowledge and more extensive clinical data coupled with a growing pipeline of FRα-targeted agents.”

FRα is a protein that is overexpressed on the surface of many types of cancer cells, making it an attractive target for cancer therapies. In healthy tissue, FRα expression is usually low and is mostly limited to epithelial cells such as those found in the kidney, retina, choroid plexus, and placenta.

As the market for FRα-targeted therapy continues to grow, competition in this space is also increasing. Currently, ImmunoGen’s Elahere is at the forefront of the race and the only FRα-targeted therapy approved in the oncology field. Nonetheless, other companies, such as Eisai and Bio-Thera Solutions, are developing FRα-targeted therapies that have shown promising results in clinical trials. The increasing competition in this space is expected to contribute to continued innovation, leading to the development of more effective FRα -targeted therapies that can be used to treat several types of cancer.

Morina concludes: “While Elahere has the first-to-market advantage, its safety issues, such as ocular toxicity, open the floor for other entrants, such as Sutro which asserts that its anti-FRα antibody-drug conjugate luveltamab tazevibulin can effectively treat twice as many ovarian cancer patients as Elahere.”