 Pharmacor --
June 2005
 You Need to Know
What strategies are developers
taking to create blockbuster antidepressants through 2014, despite generic
competition, regulatory constraints, and crowding? What regulatory and
reimbursement hurdles will emerging agents face in the seven major markets
under study? Which emerging antidepressants will achieve blockbuster status?
Introduction
In 2004, the key approved
indications treated with antidepressants were generalized anxiety disorder
(GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
panic disorder (PD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Of these disorders, PD
has the highest rate of diagnosis and drug treatment. However, the majority of
thought leaders, primary care physicians (PCPs), and psychiatrists interviewed
also prescribe antidepressants off-label for treatment across a broad range of
clinical conditions outside the five key approved indications. Among physicians
interviewed, we found pain disorders to be mentioned most often as targets of
off-label antidepressant use. Emerging antidepressants approved for depression
and some of the new emerging indications we discuss will find success in the
antidepressant market. Despite apparent saturation, the antidepressants
pipeline boasts drugs that will enjoy the blockbuster success earned by
compounds in the current market.
Key Findings
 The day of the blockbuster is not over in the antidepressant
market. We forecast that two emerging agents, both from the novel triple
reuptake inhibitor class (TRI), will surpass the $3 billion/year mark at their
peak; six other agents in the pipeline will earn annual sales higher than $1
billion.
The antidepressant market in the seven markets we cover will
become highly fractured during the second half of our 2005-2014 forecast period
as new classes of antidepressants--along with a growing selection of
serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and dopaminergic and
noradrenergic (DA/N) antidepressants--emerge to widen the selection of
antidepressants.
A mature market, the antidepressants market still continues to be
an active area for licensing and collaboration. Despite the saturation of
market segments such as major depression and, increasingly, anxiety disorders, large
patient numbers make psychiatric disorders high-profile candidates for many
pharmaceutical developers. However, the drug targets in these deals are, for
the most part, not particularly novel; the goal is product differentiation
rather than head-to-head competition.
Why Buy This Report?
Learn the value of the antidepressant market historically,
currently, and in ten years.
Discover in which emerging indications antidepressants will
garner their sales.
Identify the emerging regulatory and reimbursement hurdles that
emerging antidepressants will face in the seven major markets under study.
|
