The glioblastoma treatment market will increase fivefold from $659 million in 2014 to $3.3 billion by 2024, representing a rapid Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.4%, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company's latest report states that this meteoric rise, which will occur across the seven Major Markets (7MM) of the US, Spain, France, the UK, Italy, Germany and Japan, will primarily be due to the launch of new therapies for glioblastoma patients with high unmet needs.

Dr Maxime Bourgognon, GlobalData's Analyst covering Oncology and Hematology, says: "Adults with glioblastoma have some of the highest levels of unmet need of any cancer patients. Despite progress having been made in treating the disease, survival rates remain low.

"Although glioblastoma is a rare disease, such high levels of unmet need in the market have created ample opportunities for players with effective therapies. However, developing drugs which effectively treat glioblastoma has proved exceedingly challenging to date, predominantly due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which prevents many drugs from entering the brain and attacking the tumor."

GlobalData believes that current pipeline drugs offer potential solutions to this complex obstacle, and has identified Bristol-Myers Squibb's immunotherapy Opdivo (nivolumab) as a particular contender to become the primary standard of care by 2024.

Dr Bourgognon explains: "Immunotherapies have shown significant efficacy in other oncology indications, and as they affect the tumor microenvironment rather than directly targeting the tumor, they make attractive candidates for glioblastoma treatments.

"Currently, Avastin dominates the market, working by inhibiting angiogenesis and disrupting the blood-brain barrier, which in turn leads to tumor starvation. Patients refractory to the drug, however, have scant treatment options, and Opdivo addresses this."

As with the rest of the 7MM, growth will be driven by the introduction of new drugs such as Opdivo. However, higher pricing of the drug in Japan will result in the country's even faster growth rate, according to GlobalData.