Decision Resources projects Crohn's disease market surge

WALTHAM, Mass. The high prices of drugs made by Johnson & Johnson and Abbott will drive the Crohn’s disease market in 2018, according to a new report by market research firm Decision Resources.

The company found that Stelara (ustekinumab), made by J&J subsidiaries Centocor Ortho Biotech and Janssen-Cilag, and Abbott’s investigational treatment briakinumab, would respectively earn around $337 million and $130 million in the United States and Europe in 2018, though neither is expected to gain substantial patient share. Briakinumab is undergoing phase 2 trials as a Crohn’s disease treatment, and Decision Resources expects it to win approval for that condition in 2015. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies belonging to the class known as interleukin-12 and interleukin-23 inhibitors.

“Following the approval of Stelara for psoriasis last year, ongoing clinical trials have revealed that Crohn’s disease patients will likely require a dose of Stelara which is twice as large as the dose used in psoriasis treatment –– a dosing scenario such as this will translate into a premium price, which will heavily constrain the use of Stelara and other IL-12/IL-23 inhibitors among Crohn’s disease patients,” Decision Resources analyst Kathryn Benton said. “However, despite minimal uptake following their launches, the high price of Stelara and briakinumab will contribute to healthy sales for both agents.”