Singapore Oncology Drugs Market Analysis

Singapore Oncology Drugs Market Executive Summary

Singapore's oncology market size was valued at $xx Bn in 2022 and is estimated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of xx% from 2022 to 2030 and will reach $xx Bn in 2030. The country has one of the most business-friendly regulatory environments in the world for local entrepreneurs and is one of the most competitive economies in the world. Singapore’s healthcare market is expected to grow to $49.4 Bn by 2029. Healthcare spending, comprising both public and private healthcare expenditure, is expected to account for 5.9% of GDP and could go up to 9% by 2029. Government healthcare expenditure is estimated to grow to $36 Bn by 2029 while private healthcare expenditure is forecast to be $13.5 Bn.

The oncology drugs market is made up of sales of oncology drugs and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that produce oncology drugs and associated services for the diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. This sector of the economy consists of businesses that manufacture drugs for use in chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy to treat various cancers, including pancreatic, breast, ovarian, gastric, kidney, brain, and other types of cancer. Drugs are developed by the pharmaceutical industry to identify, cure, or prevent diseases. Pharmaceutical medications must go by a number of laws and rules regarding testing, safety, efficacy, marketing, and patenting. Pharmaceutical medications made from active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients are created by oncology drug manufacturers.

In Singapore cancer cases have been rising over the years, and the number of people living with cancer will continue to increase. During the period from 2014-2018, 74,536 cancer cases were reported in Singapore and 48.5% and 51.5% of those cases were reported in males and females respectively. Thus, growing the incidence of cancer cases is likely to drive the growth of the Singapore oncology drugs market.

Market Dynamics

Market Growth Drivers

The number of cancer cases in Singapore increased nearly 6 times from 12,072 in 1968-1972 to 71,265 in 2013-2017. This meant that an average of 14,253 cancer diagnoses are reported every year, equating to around 39 Singaporeans being diagnosed with cancer every single day. Consequently, these factors are likely to drive the growth of the Oncology market in Singapore during the forecast period.

The increasing aging population is expected to increase the prevalence of cancer cases contributing to the growth of the oncology drugs market. Within the next 20 years, Singapore will experience what is known as ‘hyper-aging.’ Over a quarter of the population will be 65 years and older by 2030 and it is expected to continue over the forecast period.

Market Restraints

The high cost of pharmaceuticals is a significant problem that many nations' inhabitants encounter. There is a lot of pressure to keep expenses down and show value. The sustainability of public health care funding is under threat from global political unpredictability and ongoing economic strain. The absence of affordable medications has affected the health of the populace and reduced average life expectancy in less developed nations.

Oncology Drugs Trends

Investment in Artificial Intelligence for Oncology Drugs

In order to save costs and time spent on R&D, companies that offer oncology treatments are investing more and more in cutting-edge technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI). AI is the mimicking of human intellectual capacities by computers, particularly computer systems, and has the potential to be smarter than humans. This technique speeds up the assessment of huge databases of chemical and biological data to identify potential drug candidates with higher success rates than human analysis.

Competitive Landscape

Key Players

• AstraZeneca (SGP)
• Raffles Medical Group (SGP)
• Wave Life Sciences (SGP)
• Sphaera Pharma (SGP)
• MSD Singapore (SGP)
• GlaxoSmithKline
• F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd
• Novartis AG
• Takeda Pharmaceuticals
• Gilead Sciences Inc.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb (Celgene)

Notable Recent Deals

November 2022: AstraZeneca today announced an agreement to acquire Neogene Therapeutics Inc. (Neogene), a global clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the discovery, development, and manufacturing of next-generation T-cell receptor therapies (TCR-Ts) that offer a novel cell therapy approach for targeting cancer.

Healthcare Policies and Regulatory Landscape

The Government has accepted the MediShield Life Council’s recommendations to create a list of clinically proven and cost-effective outpatient cancer drug treatments, allow these cancer drug treatments to be claimable under MediShield Life, and set more granular claim limits to provide better coverage based on the cost of each treatment.

Subsidized patients in public healthcare institutions currently receive up to 75% subsidy for drugs under the Standard Drug List (SDL) and MAF. Following price negotiations with drug manufacturers to achieve better drug prices and cost-effectiveness, 55 more cancer drugs will be listed under the SDL/MAF, which will increase support for around 150 cancer drug treatments. The new MediShield Life claim limits for cancer drug treatments will be set based on post-subsidy bills.