first-line patients with PDGFRA D842V mutant GIST (including resectable, metastatic and unresectable GIST); 8,900 first- and second-line patients with RET-altered NSCLC; 1,300 patients with MTC (regardless of line of therapy or alteration); and 25,900 first- and second-line patients with FGFR4-activated HCC.
The total addressable market opportunity for avapritinib for the treatment of patients with GIST and SM, pralsetinib for the treatment of patients with RET-altered NSCLC and thyroid cancers, including MTC, and fisogatinib for the treatment of patients with advanced HCC will ultimately depend upon, among other things, the diagnosis criteria included in the final label for our current and future drugs for sale for these indications, acceptance by the medical community and patient access, drug pricing and reimbursement. The number of patients in the Major Markets and elsewhere, including the number of addressable patients in those markets, may turn out to be lower than expected, patients may not be otherwise amenable to treatment with our drugs, patients treated with our drugs and drug candidates may develop mutations that confer resistance to treatment or new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which would adversely affect our results of operations and our business.
We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing drugs before or more successfully than we do.
The development and commercialization of new drugs is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to our drugs and current clinical-stage drug candidates, and we will face competition with respect to any drugs and drug candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell drugs or are pursuing the development of therapies in the field of kinase inhibition for cancer and other diseases. Some of these competitive drugs and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization.
Specifically, there are a large number of companies developing or marketing treatments for cancer, including many major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. If avapritinib receives marketing approval for advanced SM, it will face competition from Novartis AG’s midostaurin, a multi-kinase inhibitor with KIT D816V inhibitory activity. In addition, if avapritinib is approved for advanced SM or if avapritinib or BLU-263 are approved for indolent SM, they may face competition from other drug candidates in development for these indications, including drug candidates being developed by AB Science S.A., Allakos Inc. and Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (formerly known as Unum Therapeutics).
AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT may face competition from drug candidates in development for GIST, including those being developed by AB Science S.A., ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, AROG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., Cogent Biosciences, Inc., Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Exelixis, Inc., Ningbo Tai Kang Medical Technology Co. Ltd. and Xencor, Inc.
GAVRETO faces competition for RET fusion-positive NSCLC from Eli Lilly and Company’s selpercatinib, which was approved by the FDA in May 2020 for the treatment of RET-driven NSCLC, MTC and thyroid cancer. If pralsetinib receives marketing approval for patients with RET-altered thyroid carcinoma, including MTC, and other solid tumors, it will also face competition from selpercatinib for these additional indications. In addition, pralsetinib may face competition from other drug candidates in development, including those being developed by AstraZeneca plc, Boston Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eisai Inc., Exelixis, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc. Roche, Stemline Therapeutics, Inc., and Turning Point Therapeutics, Inc., as well as several approved multi-kinase inhibitors with RET activity being evaluated in clinical trials, including alectinib, apatinib, cabozantinib, dovitinib, lenvatinib, sorafenib, sunitinib and vandetinib.
If fisogatinib receives marketing approval for patients with FGFR4-activated HCC, it will face competition from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s nivolumab and Merck & Co., Inc.’s pembrolizumab, immune checkpoint inhibitors approved by the FDA for the treatment of HCC, as well as sorafenib, cabozantinib, regorafenib and lenvatinib, multi-kinase inhibitors approved for the treatment of HCC. In addition, fisogatinib may face competition from other drug candidates in development by Abbisko Therapeutics Co., Ltd, AstraZeneca plc, Bayer AG, Celgene Corporation, Eisai