Significant opportunity remains In unipolar depression market, says DR

Significant opportunity remains in the unipolar depression market owing to both the high prevalence of depressive disorders in the world’s major pharmaceutical markets as well as low patient response rate, as more than one-third of depression patients do not respond to first-line antidepressants, according to a new report from advisory firm Decision Resources.

“Agents that offer faster and more sustained effect than currently available agents or that demonstrate efficacy for treatment-resistant depression would be differentiated in the unipolar depression market,” said Decision Resources analyst Alana Simorellis, adding: “However, the growing number of generic products will make it increasingly difficult for marketers to gain blockbuster status for branded emerging therapies.”

The Pharmacor advisory service titled Unipolar Depression also finds that aripiprazole (Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Abilify) and quetiapine extended release (AstraZeneca’s Seroquel XR/Seroquel XL/Seroquel Prolong, generics) continue to modestly increase their patient share as adjunctive treatments for major depressive disorder, and these two agents will contribute to the stability of the unipolar depression market in the near term.