Paclitaxel and docetaxel leading the antineoplastic market

In the plant bases natural extracts drugs, yew series of drugs are the high-profile species, the most common chemotherapy drugs for female malignancy of breast cancer. In recent years, the global incidence of breast cancer accounted for 7% to 10% of various malignancies in female body, ranking first in the female malignancies. Every year, about 1.2 million women with breast cancer and 500,000 women died of breast cancer in the world, the mortality rate is about 42%. Therefore, the global yew series of drugs in the anti-tumor market is unabated. Since from 2001 to 2013, the world's seven major drug markets of yew series patent drugs’ sales have reached $31.6 billion. With the expiration of the products’ patent, the total sales are declining slowly, but the market demand is continued to grow year by year.

The mid-1990s, China has listed the developed paclitaxel drugs. In recent years, the production and export of paclitaxel drugs developing rapidly. In the situation of yew tree (pharmaceutical raw materials of paclitaxel) cut out excessively, rare plant resources become endangered, the Chinese yew plantations completed to put into producing paclitaxel. Despite the international market’s paclitaxel prices declined year by year, but the total production of Chinese paclitaxel bulk drugs is still shows growth.

The related studies show that the production of paclitaxel has substantial increase in 2010, annual output is 1310kg, had increased 103.99% compared to last year. Paclitaxel bulk drugs are expensive anticancer drugs, every per kilogram bulk drugs price are as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that make the Chinese yew become a rich source of natural plant. In the past two years, the planted forest project has begun to take shape, in the situation of global paclitaxel production and sales rose, in 2011, the average export price of paclitaxel drugs is $30,200/kg. The global drugs transaction is fluctuate in line with market conditions, due to the price changes rationality, the expansion of clinical applications, paclitaxel bulk drugs still has a certain amount of profit margins, but with the yearly growth in labor costs and the costs grow in the production period, it will also be faced with the challenge.

In comparison, the anti-tumor effect of docetaxel is better than paclitaxel, hospital medication is rising fast. At the same dose, by inhibiting cell division, the ability of anti-microtubule depolymerization is twice than the paclitaxel, with more economically practical value. 2011, in Chinese entire anticancer drugs market, docetaxel are still ranking in the first place, also showing strong growth momentum. The report shows that in 2010, Chinese docetaxel bulk drugs production is 114 kg. Some docetaxel suppliers signify that docetaxel patent will expire in 2013, at that time will not rule out the bulk drugs supply market appear short-term growth outbreak period.
In many antineoplastic agents, the natural plant antineoplastic account the largest share, accounted for nearly one-third share. Paclitaxel and docetaxel with high cost performance in clinical, especially after paclitaxel liposome drug listed, due to the safety, tolerability and passive targeting increasingly popular, while driven by the rapid development of clinical drugs market also further stimulate the production of paclitaxel and docetaxel bulk drugs increased year by year.