COPD-asthma: very juicy bite for Big Pharma

A new prognosis was issued: COPD-asthma market to reach $47bn in 2017

This $47bn sounds not bad!

 

The global market for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drugs is set to reach $47bn in 2017 according to a new report.

US market research firm BCC Research estimates that the market for prescription drugs in these respiratory areas will hit $38bn in 2012 before continuing growth at a compound annual rate of 4.4 per cent over the next five years.

 

This will be driven by the increasing prevalence of asthma and COPD due to the world’s increasingly aging population and rising pollution levels, says its Global Markets for Asthma & COPD Drugs report.

COPD comprises several chronic lung diseases that cause limitations in lung airflow and projections from the World Health Organization (WHO) see it being the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

 

When broken down, the report predicts combination asthma/COPD drugs to be worth $17.4bn in 2012 and to reach $21.3bn in 2017.

Drugs with only an asthma indication will increase from $15,3bn in 2012 to $20.2bn in 2017, while COPD drug revenues will achieve a less significant growth from $5.3bn in 2012 to $5.6bn in 2017.

No cure - no pay

A new approach for the payment for the provided treatment:

Dutch Health Minister Edith Schippers has announced that, starting with Novartis' asthma drug Xolair (omalizumab), the national health insurance council will pay for some new drugs only if they produce a measurable effect on patients' health.

If they do not, their costs will be reclaimed from the manufacturer, said the Minister, giving details of the new scheme, which the council - the College van Zorgerzekringen (CVZ) - has said will be the first time that the cost of a medicine will depend on the effects of the treatment.

The scheme is being introduced on the advice of the CVZ, which has reported that Xolair, costing 16,000 euros per patient per year, produces no effect in 30% of patients.

Well, why not? Why should patients and society pay to Big Pharma for inefficient crap?

The CVZ says that it already has an agreement in place with Novartis, clinicians and patients for the "no cure no pay" scheme, and that it expects the initiative to save up to 2 million euros a year.

No balls - no babies!

Masterpiece of the day. Lenin is still in play

Regenerative medicine: the future of medicine?

I have received an advertisement about the prospect: “Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022”. It summarizes the following fields:

• Tissue engineering, organogenesis and organ transplants

• Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)

• Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and other cellular treatments

• Orthobiologics, biomaterials, neuroprotection and nanotechnology

• Gene therapy, including delivery and viral vectors

• Bone marrow material and human embryonic stem cells

• Mesenchymal stem cell technologies

• Skin regeneration, wound repair, cosmetic uses and treating degenerative disorders

• Treatment of leg ulcers, cartilage, livers, hearts and eyes

Sure, some of these fields are devoted to very small markets; some of the fields are even pseudo-scientific. I have already written about the issue here and here.

The R&D pipeline is strong and promising. Overall world revenue for that market area will reach $1.4bn in 2012, our report forecasts. There will be high demand for treatments, with degenerative diseases, wound healing and other applications stimulating progress.

Sure, the demand for regenerative treatment can be extremely high if regenerative treatment can show its efficiency. So far – so bad! Unsatisfactory. Very far from being satisfactory. And the whole market is $1.4bn in 2012? Is it a joke? One not-very-best blockbuster generates much more revenue!

However I hope that regenerative medicine will be very important in the future. Namely here Big Pharma will create new bubbles to burn its R&D budgets. It will be very hot area – probably not tomorrow but the day after tomorrow. And as usually – nobody knows, a new Black Swan can happen! And I hope for that very much.

Masterpiece of the day. First sms

Novel approach for fund-raising

From here:

Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden are offering to name an experimental cancer drug after anyone who donates 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to help fund its development, the Financial Times said.

Academics at the Swedish college are trying to raise 2 million pounds to pay for a clinical trial in as many as 20 people for the potential treatment of neuroendocrine cancer, the newspaper said, citing comments from the university.

Well, why not? Just a question: how do they know that the name-giving costs 1 million pounds? Can they provide calculations?I would propose that it should cost 10 million! This capital in that case will be sufficient for phase II clinical trials. And an option that tablets will have a silhouette of an investor would help to raise let's say additional money. In this approach to fund-raising only imagination and fantasy matters!

Masterpiece of the day. Alertness is our weapon!

Music of the week. Une vie d'mour

A positive news

Janssen-Cilag International N.V. submitted an MAA to EMA for bedaquiline (TMC207) to treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Bedaquiline is a diarylquinoline (DARQ) antibiotic that inhibits mycobacterial F1F0-ATP synthase.

I have written earlier that anti-infectious drugs are not very profitable for Big Pharma (see also here), therefore this new antibiotic is very welcomed.

Masterpiece of the day. Always...