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Schizophrenia Market: Novel Agents May Establish New Leaders
Decision Resources, Inc, May 2006, Pages: 22
Schizophrenia is a complex disease whose biology is not completely understood, a reality that presents a major hurdle to companies developing new therapies for schizophrenia. As a result, many companies have focused on the development of agents that, like existing agents, target the serotonin and dopamine receptors. Thus, over the next several years, emerging treatments for schizophrenia are expected to function by the same general mechanisms as existing therapies. How can they distinguish themselves and gain market share? What strategies will companies working in this field employ to extend the use and sales of their agents? What are the prospects for development of agents that work via novel mechanisms? In this report, Decision Resources provide an overview of the disease of schizophrenia and discuss currently available drugs and emerging therapies in late-stage development. Lastly, Decision Resources assess the current competition as well as market prospects and competitive strategies for these agents.
Business Implications
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic, and debilitating brain disease that affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide. The disease is most commonly treated with typical or atypical antipsychotics. The market for these agents for the treatment of schizophrenia exceeded $5 billion in 2005.
The largest challenge facing the schizophrenia market in the short term will be the increasing availability of generic agents, leading to an overall decline in the market. Generic versions of clozapine (Novartis’s Clozaril) are already available, and the three top-selling atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine [Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa], risperidone [Janssen’s Risperdal], and quetiapine fumarate [AstraZeneca/Astellas’s Seroquel]) are due to lose patent protection within the next five years.
Like existing agents, most emerging agents in late-stage development target the serotonin and dopamine receptors. These agents will be entering a highly saturated market, and their success will depend primarily on how they compare with existing agents in terms of efficacy and side-effect profiles.
The need for agents with improved efficacy and side-effect profiles, relative to existing agents, is significant. The best hope of identifying such an agent is through the investigation of novel mechanisms of action. Although a significant number of agents in development focus on new targets, most are in early-stage development; it is thus difficult to predict which, if any, of these agents is a promising treatment.
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