Roche/Chugai's bitopertin set to garner $1.5 billion sales in 2022

Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) and its majority-owned Japanese affiliate Chugai’s glycine transporter-1 inhibitor bitopertin is poised to be the first approved treatment to address negative symptoms in schizophrenia following its forecasted launch in the USA and Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) in 2016 and in Japan in 2017, says health care advisory firm Decision Resources.

As a first-in-class agent for the treatment of these prominent yet underserved symptoms of schizophrenia, Decision Resources expects that bitopertin will garner nearly $1.5 billion in major-market sales in 2022.

“Treatments for negative symptoms, such as abnormalities in emotional expression and social interaction, is one of the top unmet needs in schizophrenia because - although nearly two-thirds of patients experience notable negative symptoms - currently available antipsychotics have not proven efficacious and reliable in treating such symptoms,” said Decision Resources senior business insights analyst Anne-Elise Tobin. “Bitopertin has engendered enthusiasm from interviewed key opinion leaders, who say its novel mechanism of action will be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy to current antipsychotics. Because bitopertin will be used adjunctively and thus will not compete directly with other currently available therapies, it will contribute to market growth over the forecast period,” she added.