Oncology, cardiovascular, autoimmune/anti-inflammatories and infectious diseases will be the top therapeutic areas for investment in 2015, says new research.

Also, as more complex specialty products are introduced, spending on personalised medicine will grow beyond oncology into areas such as infectious diseases and cardiology, says the study, from Frost & Sullivan.

“In addition, pharmaceutical companies will be keen to invest in: in-vitro diagnostics such as biomarkers; molecular, tissue, companion diagnostics; predisposition disease; and predictive testing,” said Frost & Sullivan life sciences global programme director Jennifer Lazar. “This is because drugs with companion diagnostics are expected to increase two- to three-fold over the next five years with increased focus on areas such as cardiology and inflammatory diseases.”

Frost & Sullivan’s therapeutics watch list for 2015 includes Puma Biotechnology’s neratinib for breast cancer, Novartis' heart failure drug LCZ696 and GlaxoSmithKline’s and Sanofi's vaccines for malaria and dengue fever, respectively.