Depression Drug Market Still Has "Untapped Potential"

Thomson Reuters issued a press release announcing that the post-Prozac depression-treatment market still has “untapped potential” and could continue to see growth in the next few years.

The Intellectual Property and Science business of Reuters recently released a report analyzing the changes that Prozac catalyzed, the opportunities in the market, and the current state of research.

The Spotlight on Depression article, part of Reuters’ 3-part series on the depression drug environment, states that the market is huge, with 350 million people suffering from depression worldwide. The high rates of depression and the limited market penetration makes the market high value, according to analysts.

Challenges for the industry include generic competition, black-box warnings for suicide, drugs as a second-line treatment after talk therapy, and switching between drugs. Report authors state that despite the large market, worldwide sales have been declining. In 2012, global sales were $10 billion compared to $15 billion in 2003. Generic proliferation is one cause of the decline and another is the preference for psychosocial therapy as a first-line treatment. 

Partnerships in the depression market have been increasing, including agreements for development and distribution. Significant deals on the table include Otsuka and H. Lundbeck for Abilify and Brexpiprazole, Dainippon Sumitomo and Takeda for Latuda, and Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb for Abilify.

Current Drug Development

In Battling Depression: Research Highlights, part of the Reuters report, analysts review highly cited research articles focusing on depression and prolific researchers in the field, including individuals and academic institutions. China is leading the world in antidepressant drug patents. GlaxoSmithKline, H. Lundbeck, and Eli Lilly are very active industry researchers.

In development, Alkermes’ ALKS-5461 and Roche’s RG-7090 and RG-1578 are forecasted to earn $100 million in sales by 2019. An infographic by Reuters shows the drugs’ methods of action, detailed sales forecast, and their progress in the clinical trial Phases.

Depression Drug Targeting

Once current course of action the industry is considering is diagnostics that help predict beneficial and personalized treatment options. George Carpenter, CEO of CNS Response told Businessweek that new tests will evaluate mental and physical patterns in patients and will create a new testing market. Using diagnostics could help patients find the best possible treatment more quickly, considering many patients today go through several different drugs before finding the right one.

Another potential option, currently being carried out by AssureRx, is DNA analyses to see which medications patients are likely to respond to.