Abstract
Overview:
Today' s armoury of approved drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer' s Disease
(AD) largely depends on just five therapeutic agents. In 2007, three of these
agents represented 88% of global sales, in a market that this report estimates
exceeded $6 billion in 2008. There are presently no cures for AD, and current
drugs are only able to treat some of the symptoms in some people, with
benefits that are often short-lived. Hope is being placed in future
disease-modifying drugs, but this report shows that 80% of these candidates
are still at Phases I and II. With the relatively recent suspension of two
prominent potential disease-modifying Phase III candidates, immediate hopes
for these kinds of new-generation drugs now rest on just two to three
late-stage candidates. Historically, efforts to develop drugs to treat
neurodegenerative disease have demonstrated significant risk, and failure
rates have been high. While this has focused companies' efforts on targeting
the underlying disease mechanisms, alternative strategies have been stimulated
by studies showing that some of the changes found in AD mirror those seen in
some other conditions. This report estimates that 30% of current Phase III
trials are investigating drugs already approved for other indications. A high
proportion of Phase III studies are also investigating new formulations of
existing approved drugs or new drug combinations. The AD market offers high
growth potential, particularly as more effective treatments are developed. It
is also evident that therapeutic opportunities in this field are still wide
open, as unmet medical need grows. This report gives a comprehensive overview
of the market performance of approved AD drugs, globally, regionally and in
the US. The current pipeline, drug development strategies and opportunities in
this field are also reviewed.
Alzheimer' s Disease:
In 2006 it was estimated that 27 million people globally were suffering from
AD - a figure that is expected to quadruple to more than 100 million by
2050, if a cure is not found. Direct and indirect costs of AD and other
dementias in the US are more than $148 billion annually, with worldwide costs
for dementia care estimated at $315 billion annually. The 2003 World Health
Report indicated that dementia contributed 11.2% of years lived with
disability in people aged 60 years and older. This is higher than strokes
(9.5%), musculoskeletal disorders (8.9%), cardiovascular disease (5.0%) and
all forms of cancer (2.4%).
Markets:
The global AD drug market has grown steadily over the last decade, from around
$500 million in 1999 to over $6 billion in 2008, which is an average increase
of more than 33% per year. In the last five years, the average growth rate was
23%. Just five approved drugs dominate global sales, three of which
represented 88% of global sales in 2007.
Pipeline:
In contrast to the handful of approved drugs for the treatment of AD - where
just five agents account for an estimated 95%+ of drug sales - there are
more than 178 candidate drugs or candidate treatments currently in the
clinical pipeline. Of these, 82% are at Phases I and II. In addition to drugs
aimed at targeting AD directly, more than 35 other drug classes are being
investigated in an effort to development other strategies for treating AD and
its symptoms.
Questions answered in this report:
Which AD drugs are the market leaders? How are the trends in the sales of AD
drugs developing on a global and regional basis? What are the sales of
individual AD drugs on a global and (where available) regional basis? What are
the growth rates and global sales of AD Drugs? What are the forward
projections of market growth in the AD field? What strategies are companies
taking in the development of new AD drugs? What are the technical and
commercial drivers for drug development in the AD field? What types of
potential disease-modifying drugs are being developed to target AD, and where
are they in the development pipeline? What therapeutic classes are being
investigated in an effort to identify `new-use' applications or repurposing
opportunities? What drugs classes are currently in the AD development
pipeline? What opportunities are available in the AD therapeutics field? See
Content of Report
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