Egypt Cancer Immunotherapy Market Analysis

Egypt Cancer Immunotherapy Market Executive Analysis

Egypt's cancer immunotherapy market is expected to witness growth from $315 Mn in 2022 to $610 Mn in 2030 with a CAGR of 8.6% for the forecasted year 2022-30. According to the finance minister, the 2018 budget allotment for Egypt's health sector has increased by 14% to EGP 111.2 Bn. This is an increase of EGP 13.3 Bn over the budget from the prior year. Additionally, he mentioned that the current fiscal year's health investments had increased by 30% as compared to the prior year. The minister also emphasized the higher risk allowance for medical employees, including doctors and nurses.  Additionally, he mentioned that the emergency incentive, lodging, and night shift allowances had all been raised.

According to the National Plan for Cancer Control 2019–2022, which was created by the National Cancer Committee at the Ministry of Health, cancer rates are predicted to rise by three times their present level by 2050. According to the National Cancer Control Plan, the incidence of cancer is currently 113 per 100,000 people and is projected to rise to 341 per 100,000 people by 2050. Males are more likely to develop liver cancer than females are to develop lung cancer (5.69 % vs. 33.63 %). Females are more likely to develop breast cancer (32.04%), liver cancer (13.54%), and ovarian cancer (4.12%) than males.

The alternative medicinal approach to combat cancer is immunotherapy. Immunotherapy, in its broadest sense, refers to therapeutic actions that stimulate or inhibit immune responses in the fight against cancer. It may either seek to boost overall immune responses or directly engage the immune system to combat cancer cells. The three main immunotherapies that are utilized to treat numerous tumours are immune checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapy, and monoclonal antibodies. There are numerous clinical trials planned to look at the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies in Egypt. Cancer immune reprogramming can be divided into three phases: (a) activating the innate and adaptive immune systems to destroy cancer cells (eradication phase); (b) maintaining the viability of abnormal malignant cells that can activate immune reprogramming (equipoise phase); and (c) creating an immunosuppressive microenvironment and low-immunogenic tumours (escape phase).

Small messengers called cytokines let immune system cells communicate with one another and respond to a specific antigen in a coordinated manner. At the tumour location, cytokines can directly stimulate stromal cells and effector cells, enhancing CD8+ T cells' ability to recognize tumour cells. For the treatment of cancer, the FDA has approved the use of two cytokines: IFN- 2b has been used as an adjuvant in the treatment of Stage III melanoma, and large dosages of IL-2 are given for metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

The use of a patient's own cells to treat cancer is a developing area of immune treatment. the adoption cell transfer (ACT) process. There are various ACTs, but (CAR) T-cell therapy is the most common. In (CAR) T-cell therapy, autologous T cells from the patients are isolated and modified in vitro by genetic engineering. The extracellular domain (ScFv) of the T cell receptor can bind to and recognize tumour antigens, hinge or spacer sections, transmembrane domains, and intracellular domains, which are made up of the signalling domain and the co-stimulatory CD28 domain, and its recognition is MHC independent. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is the name of the novel T cell receptor, and (CAR) T cells are T cells that express this receptor. Patients are given (CAR) T-cells that have been produced in enormous quantities in the lab. The treatment of advanced blood malignancies has used this therapy. This treatment is very targeted, has fewer adverse effects, and has the benefit of not having any drug resistance.

Market Dynamics

Market Growth Drivers

With an estimated 115,000 new instances of cancer identified each year, Egypt has one of the highest rates of cancer in the entire globe. The desire for innovative and potent therapies, such as immunotherapy, is being driven by the increased incidence of cancer. The Egyptian government is putting more emphasis on cancer treatment and investing in facilities and technology. This backing is anticipated to accelerate the nation's adoption of cancer immunotherapy. The government of Egypt is investing in the construction of its healthcare infrastructure, which is resulting in an increase in healthcare costs. Because of this, more patients have access to cancer therapies like immunotherapy. The Egyptian government has taken measures to speed up the approval procedure for novel cancer therapies, such as immunotherapy. This has facilitated the commercialization of novel therapies and will likely fuel the expansion of the Egypt cancer immunotherapy market.

Market Restraints

Many patients in Egypt still lack access to even the most basic healthcare services, let alone specialized cancer care, despite government efforts to increase healthcare access. This might restrict how widely cancer immunotherapy is used throughout the nation. Numerous patients in Egypt might not be able to afford immunotherapy therapies since they can be pricey. The market size for these treatments might be constrained by this, particularly in the absence of extensive insurance coverage. Accurate cancer detection is a need for effective cancer therapy, which in turn necessitates the availability of cutting-edge diagnostic tools like PET/CT scans. However, the lack of accessibility to such technology in Egypt may restrict the use of immunotherapy therapies. Cancer immunotherapy research and development are underdeveloped in Egypt, which may restrict the Egypt cancer immunotherapy market's access to the latest treatments.

Competitive Landscape

Key Players

• Liptis (EGY)
• Ateco Pharma (EGY)
• Copad pharma (EGY)
• Pharco B (EGY)
• Amoun Pharmaceutical (EGY)
• AstraZeneca
• Bayer
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• ELI Lilly
• F Hoffman-La Roche
• Janssen
• Merck

Healthcare Policies and Regulatory Landscape

The universal healthcare system in Egypt, which offers all individuals access to fundamental healthcare services, covers cancer treatment. However, patients may need to travel to larger cities for treatment because access to specialized cancer care can be limited in some places. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was founded by the Egyptian government to regulate cancer care and treatment in the nation and to establish payment standards for cancer therapy. The NCI establishes policies for reimbursement for these treatments as well as funds cancer therapies, such as immunotherapy.