HIV and Hepatitis Therapies Continue to Drive Revenues in Antiviral Market

http://www.arrowheadpublishers.com/reports/infectious-disease/the-global-antivirals-market/

According to Arrowhead Publishers’ new report entitled The Global Anti-Virals Market: R&D Pipelines, Market Analysis and Competitive Landscape, the anti-infectives market is currently valued at US$66.5 billion with antiviral agents accounting for 24% of sales (excluding vaccines which target viral infectious diseases). Current antiviral agents treat a broad range of infectious disease including cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Influenza, human papillomavirus (HPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Report Highlights

Antiretroviral Market
Antiviral sales are driven by the antiretroviral drugs which target the treatment of HIV and generated US$8.5 billion in sales in 2006. These drugs are used in a plethora of combinations including reverse transcriptase inhibitors and fusion inhibitors. While several of these leading brands face generic competition by 2012, there are a number of second and third generation products as well as new drugs classes (integrase inhibitors, attachment and entry inhibitors) which are expected to be launched and will fuel future sales. This is a market dominated by GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences.

Hepatitis Market
The second largest segment of the antiviral market is derived from the treatment of hepatitis B/C which reported sales of around US$3.81 billion in 2006, generated from combination therapies, pegylated interferon and ribavarin for the treatment of HCV. Roche has gained market share following the launch of Pegasys, which it has bundled with its own ribavarin (Copegsys), while Schering-Plough markets its PEG Intron with its own ribavarin.

Drivers
The antiviral market is being driven by the uptake of newer anti-retroviral agents in combination therapy and the launch of ten new products for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis which will address the needs of treatment-resistant patients.

The antiviral market is going through a period of change as pharmaceutical companies reallocate resources in the development of new antiviral agents to address unmet clinical needs and identify new targets to treat pandemic viral infections. There are a number of factors which drive sales of antivirals, including:

  • Drug resistance
  • Cross-resistance
  • New treatments
  • Combination therapy
  • Improvements in diagnosis

Resistors
There are a number of factors which will dampen the growth of anti-infective products, including:

  • Cost-benefit of prophylactic therapy or antiviral therapy
  • Treatment availability
  • Patient demographics
  • Generics

Key Research and Development Trends
The development of low toxicity, low drug resistances and orally active antiviral agents are three of the biggest issues which pharmaceutical companies face in the development of antiviral agents in the prevention and treatment of infectious disease. Due to the nature of viral infections, mutations may rapidly lead to drug resistance over the course of treatment.

For example, in HIV, between 50% to 78% of patients are resistant to at least one antiretroviral drug. In this case, the development of new and innovative drug classes could provide virologists with new treatment options for monotherapy and combination therapy in the battle against these endemic diseases.

In other cases, such as hepatitis, treatment options are poorly tolerated and may cause worse side-effects than the initial infection. However, to prevent the progression and spread of these infections, the development of less toxic agents is essential. Conversely, the development of orally-active treatments for diseases such as influenza and RSV could significantly improve patient compliance.

A number of NS3 protease inhibitors are in clinical development which show promise in the treatment of hepatitis, including HCV genotype 1 patients, which can enhance viral suppression in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavarin. Studies are underway to determine the optimal dosing regimen. In addition, long-acting ribavarin albuferon is in phase III development and approval of this product could improve treatment options for chronic patients with this disease.

A Few Factors Influencing the Future of the Antiviral Market

  • Several second and third generation antiretroviral agents will be launched to offset the impact of generics including the entry inhibitors (maraviroc, vicriviroc and SP01A and integrase inhibitors MK-0518)
  • New NS3 protease inhibitors are launched (SCH 503034 and telaprevir) to treat hepatitis either in combination with existing therapies or in treatment experienced patients which have failed on current therapies.
  • Sales of influenza vaccines are expected to rise as immunizations become standard practice in the developed countries with increased use outside high risk patients (the elderly, children and immuncompromised) in the prevention of pandemics in high risk areas.
  • Many of the leading antiretroviral agents will face patent expiration by 2012 which may help increase their availability worldwide including: Emtriva (2010), Videx (2007), Ziagen (2012), Combivir (2010), Trizivir (2012)


Arrowhead Publishers’ new report: The Global Anti-Virals Market: R&D Pipelines, Market Analysis and Competitive Landscape is now available. For sample pages or ordering information, please contact us at 1-866-397-1376 or 1-312-244-3703, email us at sales@arrowheadpublishers.net or visit our website: www.arrowheadpublishers.com