Sales for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) were estimated to be $19.1 billion across the seven major markets (7MM*) in 2016. This is expected to grow to $25.3 billion in 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.9%, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
The company’s latest report: ‘PharmaPoint: Multiple Sclerosis’ states that this growth will be driven by an increase in treatment rates and the introduction of numerous pipeline products offsetting the generic erosion of key brands.
The current MS market is becoming increasingly competitive, with a large number of drugs that offer relatively good safety but only moderate efficacy. Historically, the market has been dominated by four players – Biogen, Merck Serono (EMD Serono in the US), Teva, and Bayer HealthCare – through the commercialization of their first-line injectable DMTs.
Gengyu Li, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Reliance on these platform injectables is expected to wane over the forecast period due to the continued uptake of oral DMTs and efficacious pipeline products.
“Various R&D and corporate strategies have been employed by players in order to compete effectively in the increasingly competitive MS market. These strategies include the development of products that target key clinical unmet needs or progressive types of MS, thereby expanding the coverage of marketed products, as well as strategic partnerships between companies.”
Despite the increasingly competitive nature of the MS market, lucrative opportunities remain for products that target unmet needs. Drugs with better efficacy in terms of relapse rates and good safety profiles will continue to be viewed favorably by physicians. Alternatively, there will be lucrative development opportunities for products that delay disease progression, prevent the accumulation of disability, and possibly reverse some of the damage incurred in MS.
Li continues: “Targeting progressive MS will be an ongoing opportunity, as competition for market share in this segment will be considerably less fierce than in relapsing remitting MS”
GlobalData has identified 17 late-stage drug products that are anticipated to enter the MS market during the 10-year forecast period and collectively, these pipeline products are anticipated to claim a 29.6% share of the global MS market by 2026, generating combined sales of $7.5 billion.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
