Market Size & Opportunity
Market Size & Opportunity
The fastest growing segment of the biological pharmaceutical market is the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions. These conditions include diseases of ageing, which are increasing as the population grows older. This trend is evident in affluent Western societies and in high-growth economies in Asia.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases affect millions of people globally. The market is large in terms of patients requiring treatment, and potential to generate revenue.
Although the current use of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) for a selection of autoimmune diseases is well established, there are still large resources devoted to finding other drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
Anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs are also coming off patent, and there are indications that generic antibodies are being developed in the US, Europe and China to enter this market. New drugs under patent will have a significantly longer life of premium pricing compared to existing biological treatments.
In 2017, three of the top 10 drugs globally were for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, specifically rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These three drugs alone represented approximately $US35 billion in global sales.