New treatments will partially compensate for unipolar depression drugs coming out of patent

New antidepressants and antipsychotics will offset a steep decline in sales following genericization of unipolar depression medication, according to research carried out by Decision Resources Group.

It found that Lundbeck (LUND: CO) and Takeda’s (TYO: 4502) Brintellix (vortioxetine), Actavis (NYSE: ACT) and Pierre Fabre’s Fetzima (levomilnacipran ER), in conjunction with the forecasted launch of Otsuka (TYO: 4768) and Lundbeck’s brexiprazole will temper the impact of a loss of market exclusivity for the two major drugs in unipolar depression, duloxetine and aripiprazole.

Decision Resources Group said that, by 2023, total major-market sales for unipolar depression will reach under $10 billion, and that newer antidepressant therapies will be prescribed as third- and fourth-line treatment for patients whose depressive symptoms are inadequately addressed by generic SSRIs and/or SNRIs. The use of atypical antipsychotics as adjunctive treatment in patients with a poor response to antidepressants will continue to grow, particularly due to the launch of generic aripiprazole during the study period.