After $6.3 billion peak in 2011, generic erosion of atypical antipsychotics will see schizophrenia drug market decline to $5.2 billion in 2019; report

After reaching a peak value of $6.3 billion in 2011, the schizophrenia drug market will decline to $5.2 billion in 2019, owing to the loss of patent protection for most atypical antipsychotics on the market, says health care advisory firm Decision Resources.

The Pharmacor 2010 findings from the topic entitled Schizophrenia reveal that the generic erosion of key agents - most notably Eli Lilly's Zyprexa (olanzapine) and AstraZeneca/Astellas' Seroquel (quetiapine) - will constrain market sales over the next decade in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan.

"Because the schizophrenia drug market is saturated with well-established antipsychotics, emerging therapies must differentiate themselves to be competitive," said Decision Resources analyst Anne-Elise Tobin. "The opportunities in this indication lie in developing therapies that are effective at treating the negative or cognitive symptoms associated with schizophrenia,' she added.