Immunotherapy uses a person’s own immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. Older cancer immunotherapies such as cytokine(IFNα) and vaccine(BCG) have been in use since 1980’s. In recent years, newer agents such as engineered T cells or immune-checkpoint inhibitors have become a major part of treating certain types of cancer, and will continue to impact how we fight cancer in the future.
The immune-checkpoint inhibitor is a class of immunotherapy that unleashes an immune system attack on cancer cells. A number of monoclonal antibodies targeting immune-checkpoints such as CTLA-4 and PD1/PD-L1 are FDA approved for select cancers, and the indications are expanding. It is estimated that the market will experience considerable growth over the 2014–2021 globally (53% CAGR), accounting for 15% of the total oncology market share.
