Despite the steady rollout of new drugs, asthma patients’ visits to the emergency room continue while statistics show that patients fail to follow guidelines for controlling the disorder.
Combined with an increasingly underserved and steadily growing global asthma patient market, the incentive for a drug that completely cures rather than just manages the symptoms is higher than ever before.
According to analysis from pharmaceutical research firm Frost & Sullivan, the European market had revenues from asthma medications of $4.9 billion in 2005 and is projected to reach $9.3 billion in 2013. "Inhaled corticosteroids are the most sought after and accepted gold standard for treatment," says F&S analyst V. Sriram. "However, prescription trends among physicians do not reflect this acceptance."
"Biologics will witness a big boom in the autoimmune and inflammatory diseases arena and in other disease areas that have a significant unmet need,” he adds.
Currently, 58% of individuals with asthma continue with emergency visits due to the lack of adherence to guidelines. The introduction of such drugs as Xolair has created opportunity for biologics, but does not compensate for the relatively small amount of asthma cures in the pharmaceutical pipeline.
