(Image source: IMS and Sandoz internal data)

The standard oncology injectables market is sizable. According to IMS Health and Sandoz estimates, annual global sales of standard oncology injectables (branded and generic) were estimated at about USD 21 billion in 2009, and about USD 9 billion of brand sales are expected to lose patent protection by 2015. Unlike with traditional generics, the overall market for older mature products is also expected to grow due to the increasing prevalence of the disease, and as chemotherapy continues to remain the leading therapy.

Oncology injectable medicines are a highly specialized class of product and are difficult to produce due to their toxic characteristics and need for special preparation and handling. As a result, competing in this segment calls for significant capital outlays and investment in dedicated development and production capabilities, which ensure highly sterile environments and the containment of the raw material and product at every stage of the development and production process.

Sandoz already has a fully equipped development site for the development of the cytostatic injectables based in Unterach, Austria, which meets the rigorous quality standards of leading health and regulatory authorities worldwide. Production capacity and capabilities span several classes that include vials, ampoules and pre-filled syringes. Sandoz has also invested significantly in new technologies and capacity, including a new state-of-the-art facility for the production of pre-filled syringes, that allow us to offer global supply.

Sandoz is one of few companies with global development, manufacturing and commercial expertise in this challenging and growing sector, supported by a strong track record of development around complex patent landscapes. To deliver on our vision of global leadership, we concentrate our efforts on customers and their needs. Our key point of differentiation is this very ability to provide customers with added value by meeting their evolving needs, while ensuring a high-quality and effective product.

Sandoz maintains a constant dialogue with customers – including patients, doctors and pharmacists – in order to ensure that we develop products that effectively address their specific needs. At Sandoz, we take into account for whom we are designing the product, their needs, as well as how the product will be administered or used. Our products have focused on safe, innovative and user-friendly presentations that, as a result, are popular with the medical professionals that use them. Such innovative products include our “Onco-Safe” delivery system, which is designed to minimize healthcare professionals’ exposure to cytotoxic substances, as well as a wide range of convenient “ready-to-use” treatments that help reduce human error and simplify the drug’s administration process for busy doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.