Highly genericized platinum-containing chemotherapies are still the standard of care for both newly diagnosed and recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer patients, although a platinum drug shortage in the US is currently affecting patient care. 

Avastin has become the drug of choice for the maintenance treatment of ovarian cancer patients who do not have a BRCA mutation. However, upcoming patent expiries and expected competition from label expansions for the PARP inhibitors and late-phase pipeline drugs will challenge Avastin’s position in the ovarian cancer market. 

The PARP inhibitor Lynparza has quickly become the standard-of-care first-line maintenance therapy for patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer. However, fellow PARP inhibitor Zejula is now challenging Lynparza in this treatment setting, while a third PARP inhibitor, veliparib, is expected to compete with both Lynparza and Zejula. Although all three PARP inhibitors have also demonstrated an advantage over chemotherapy in patients without a BRCA mutation or a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), the primary benefit was derived in patients with BRCA or other HRD mutations, which may limit uptake in the broader patient population. 

This Datamonitor Healthcare report contains a Disease Analysis module.