Novel Approaches to Pain Therapy

Pharmacor -- August 2008

  Introduction:

In 2008, total sales for pain therapies in the seven major pharmaceutical markets under study are projected to exceed $30 billion. Well-established strong opioid and NSAIDs dominate the current pain market, but they are fraught with safety and tolerability concerns (especially when administered chronically). This landscape leaves considerable commercial opportunity for pain therapies that feature novel mechanisms of action. Twelve novel drug classes are in development as analgesics, and industry watchers are divided on which of these classes will emerge as a commercial winner. We analyze these strategies and their potential clinical advantages over current therapies for the treatment of pain. We forecast the patient populations and sales of the analgesic market to 2023. Since we last reported on novel approaches to pain therapies, compounds in two novel drug classes have been rapidly progressing through clinical development for the treatment of migraine and inflammatory pain, suggestive of their potential superiority, whereas a once-promising class of novel therapies has lost support among pain specialists and researchers interviewed by Decision Resources.

  Questions Answered in This Report:

Because the etiology and pathophysiology of pain syndromes vary so widely, physicians often rely on the practice of polypharmacy to maximize relief for their patients. Will novel pain therapies be broadly effective enough to be administered as monotherapies? Which novel agents will likely be used as adjunct treatments?

In addition to compounds with entirely novel mechanisms of action, several agents in development are compounds in existing drug classes or are reformulations of marketed drugs. Which of these "non-novel" emerging therapies offers the greatest market potential? How will these products compete with emerging therapies that feature new mechanisms of action?

There are currently 12 novel drug classes in clinical and preclinical development. What novel drug classes are viewed as having the most commercial potential by interviewed pain specialists and researchers? Which of these classes will make it to the marketplace by 2023?

The pain market is served by dozens of companies and a plethora of inexpensive generic products. How will emerging therapies be differentiated from the large number of well-established, low-cost agents? Which existing drug classes will be the most threatened by novel therapies?

  Scope:

Markets covered: United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Japan.

Primary research: 75 country-specific interviews with pain specialists and leading researchers.

Epidemiology: Prevalence of chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, HIV-associated neuropathy, migraine attack, osteoarthritis pain, peripheral diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, and postoperative pain.

Emerging therapies: 32 emerging reformulations and/or emerging therapies in the 8 current drug classes, 145 emerging therapies (in both clinical and preclinical development) representing 12 novel drug classes.

Market forecast features: Forecast of the entire pain market from 2008-2023, considering IMS sales data, prescription and diagnosis drug audit data, patent expiry data, forecasted market launch dates for emerging therapies, and primary market research.