Colorectal Cancer Drugs Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the colorectal cancer drugs market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global colorectal cancer drugs market reached a value of nearly $12.95 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.74% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $12.95 billion in 2024 to $16.88 billion in 2029 at a rate of 5.45%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.37% from 2029 and reach $21.93 billion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising clinical trial activity in pharma, rising incidence of colorectal cancer, favorable government initiatives and funding and growth of precision medicine and targeted therapies. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were high treatment costs and affordability issues and severe side effects and toxicities of chemotherapy and biologics.

Going forward, increasing awareness and screening programs, increasing healthcare expenditure, growing use of combination therapies and rise in aging population will drive growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the colorectal cancer drugs market in the future include reimbursement challenges for novel drugs, stringent regulatory approval processes and impact of trade war and tariff.

North America was the largest region in the colorectal cancer drugs market, accounting for 43.68% or $5.65 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the colorectal cancer drugs market will be Asia Pacific and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 6.75% and 6.34% respectively. These will be followed by Africa and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 6.25% and 5.10% respectively.

The global colorectal cancer drugs market is concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 47.10% of the total market in 2024. Merck & Co. Inc was the largest competitor with a 11.38% share of the market, followed by Amgen Inc with 8.74%, Bristol-Myers Squibb with 7.39%, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd with 5.62%, Eli Lilly & Company with 5.41%, Bayer AG with 3.87%, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company with 2.24%, Pfizer Inc with 2.12%, Sanofi with 0.33% and Taiho Pharmaceutical with 0.004%.

The colorectal cancer drugs market is segmented by cancer type into colorectal adenocarcinoma, gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors and other cancer types. The colorectal adenocarcinoma market was the largest segment of the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by cancer type, accounting for 92.48% or $11.97 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by cancer type, at a CAGR of 10.29% during 2024-2029.

The colorectal cancer drugs market is segmented by class into targeted therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and other classes. The chemotherapy market was the largest segment of the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by class, accounting for 45.60% or $5.9 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the immunotherapy segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by class, at a CAGR of 8.10% during 2024-2029.

The colorectal cancer drugs market is segmented by distribution channel into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies and other distribution channels. The hospital pharmacies market was the largest segment of the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 50.27% or $6.51 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the retail pharmacies segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 6.29% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by cancer type will arise in the colorectal adenocarcinoma segment, which will gain $3.57 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by class will arise in the targeted therapy segment, which will gain $1.43 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the colorectal cancer drugs market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the hospital pharmacies segment, which will gain $1.76 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The colorectal cancer drugs market size will gain the most in the USA at $1.43 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the colorectal cancer drugs market include focus on biosimilar innovations enhancing accessibility and reducing costs in colorectal cancer, focus on advancing frontline treatment in BRAF V600E-Mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, focus on combination of EGFR inhibitors with KRAS G12C-targeted agents to overcome resistance in advanced colorectal cancer and focus on next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors expanding treatment options in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Player-adopted strategies in the colorectal cancer drugs market include focus on expanding business capabilities through new drug launches, focus on strengthening business through strategic partnerships and focus on enhancing operational capabilities through strategic investments.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the colorectal cancer drugs market companies to focus on expanding biosimilar portfolios to enhance access and affordability, focus on advancing targeted therapies into first-line treatment for improved outcomes, focus on expanding combination regimens targeting kras g12c-mutant colorectal cancer, focus on advancing next-generation oral tkis to improve late-line treatment options, focus on the gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors segment for accelerated growth, focus on the immunotherapy segment to drive long-term market expansion, expand in emerging markets, focus on strengthening multi-channel distribution networks, focus on developing value-based and region-specific pricing strategies, focus on strengthening evidence-based engagement with healthcare stakeholders, focus on expanding digital and data-driven promotional channels, focus on the retail pharmacies segment to capture emerging growth opportunities.