Decision Resources: Ulcerative colitis drug market could double by 2018

WALTHAM, Mass. The market for drugs to treat ulcerative colitis could almost double within less than 10 years, according to a report released Thursday.

Market research firm Decision Resources said the market for the drugs could rise from the $1.2 billion they had in sales in 2008 to $2.1 billion in 2018 in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.

The primary drugs driving growth are expected to be Humira (adalimumab), by Abbott and Eisai, and Simponi (golimumab), by Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. and Mitsubishi Tanabe. The two drugs, both monoclonal antibodies belonging to TNF-alpha inhibitor class, could prove to be effective alternatives to existing maintenance therapies, though their high prices could limit their overall uptake.

“However, the short-term nature of corticosteroid treatment and the waning efficacy observed with immunosupressants and TNF-alpha inhibitors highlight the shortcomings of marketed products for ulcerative colitis both in induction and maintenance regimens,” Decision Resources analyst Kathryn Benton said in a statement.