Alzheimer's drug market to triple to $14.3 billion by 2020, says DR

The Alzheimer’s disease drug market will nearly triple over the next 10 years, increasing from $5.4 billion in 2010 to $14.3 billion in 2020 in the developed leading markets of the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan, notes a new report from advisory firm Decision Resources. The launch of novel agents that affect disease progression will transform the Alzheimer’s disease market, which is currently comprised solely of symptomatic therapies.

The findings from the Pharmacor topic, titled Alzheimer’s Disease, reveal that the key drivers of market growth will be the launches of the anti-beta-amyloid (anti-Abeta) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) solanezumab from Eli Lilly and bapineuzumab from Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy and Pfizer. As the first biological agents and the first potentially disease-modifying therapies in the Alzheimer’s disease market, solanezumab and bapineuzumab are expected to command significant price premiums over currently available agents.

“Thought leaders are cautiously optimistic that the anti-Abeta MAbs will be able to slow the rate of neurodegeneration and consequently cognitive and functional decline - however, they await evidence from ongoing late-stage clinical trials,” said Decision Resources analyst Georgiana Kuhlmann.