The future growth of glaucoma drug market will slow down

According to the report of industry analyst GlobalData, in 2010, the global market for glaucoma therapeutic drugs had reached 3 billion U.S. dollars. However, due to the expiration of patents, it is predicted that between 2010 and 2018, its growth will slow down significantly, and the compound annual growth rate ( CAGR) is only 0.6%.

In the coming years, due to the market's major patented drugs such as Pfizer's Lanta (latanoprost), Allergan's Lumigan (0.01% and 0.03% of bimatoprost) and Alfagen (0.1% and 0.15) The patent expiration of patents for brimonidine tartaric acid) is expected to slow down the growth of the global therapeutic drug market for glaucoma. Pfizer's Elliott is the most prescribed drug in glaucoma treatment medicines, but it expired in 2010 and will be strongly impacted by generic drugs in the future, seriously affecting the pattern of the glaucoma drug market.

Expanding the era of indications

Global Data said that the glaucoma treatment drug market will be threatened by generic drugs, which will affect the overall value of the industry. Products that are expected to enter the market in the later period are mostly “me-too” or extended indication drugs, with safety or efficacy equivalent or slightly better than currently available products. At the same time, it is important to note that these drugs can alleviate the symptoms of patients with glaucoma, but they cannot cure the disease. Therefore, they may not have a significant impact on the glaucoma drug market in the next few years.

A key factor in the promotion of the future glaucoma drug market is the increase in the number of glaucoma patients, and it is therefore expected that generic drugs will dominate the entire glaucoma drug market in the coming years. At the same time, glaucoma drug development activities will also be extremely active. The early stage of new glaucoma drugs with a new mechanism of action is primarily aimed at the cause, not to alleviate the symptoms. However, since they are still in the early stage of development, these drugs will not affect the market until 2018. The compound annual growth rate of the glaucoma drug market from 2005 to 2010 is 3.0%, which is affected by the entry of generic drugs into the market. The compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2018 is only 0.6%.

The demand is far from satisfied

According to Global Data analysis, currently the main competitors of glaucoma drugs are making product listing plans to sell around the world. The Saflutan (tafluprost) of Merck & Co. was originally acquired from Nisshin Pharmaceutical and is currently pending approval in the United States and Europe. Ophthalmology market competitors have also actively planned strategies in the Japanese market, and this trend is likely to continue in the coming years. For example, Senju Pharmaceutical's SNJ-2022 filed a new drug application in Japan and may be listed during the forecast period. Other market participants want to go public in the United States and European countries. The products that are currently applying for FDA or in phase III trials include Merck's Saflutan (submitted to FDA) and Alcon/Novartis DuoTrav APS (travoprost and timolol). Maleic acid).

The glaucoma treatment market is a field where demand is far from being satisfied, mainly due to the lack of targeted drugs. There are currently many FDA-approved drugs on the market, primarily to relieve symptoms and reduce intraocular pressure. The efficacy and safety of drugs that can be used to treat glaucoma are low, which is one of the reasons why the market needs are not met. New medicines that can fundamentally treat the disease will have great potential for development and can meet the higher-level needs of the glaucoma treatment market.