Global pain treatment market worth $22 billion but set to decline on patent expiries

The global pain treatment market recorded sales of $22.0 billion in 2010, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2005, according to a new report from companiesandmarkets.com, titled The Pain Market Outlook to 2016

This growth was supported by the presence of five blockbuster pain drugs – OxyContin (oxycodone), Pfizer’s Lyrica pregabalin), Eli Lilly’s Cymbalta (duloxetine), Celebrex celecoxib), also from Pfizer, and Endo’s Lidoderm (lidocaine). However, as patent expiries loom, the global market value is set to contract to $18.7 billion by 2016.

The pain treatment pipeline is vast, featuring over 200 drugs in clinical development. Chronic pain remains the most studied indication, although there remains strong interest in neuropathic pain and acute pain. Tapentadol ER, from Johnson & Johnson and Grunenthal, has the greatest potential of any pipeline drug, with superior tolerability to OxyContin and potential efficacy in neuropathic pain.