PharmaPoint Releases Report on Lupus’ Current and Future Therapeutic Drug Market

PharmaPoint, an industry leader in pharmacy management services, has published a report focused on lupus and its related therapeutic market, entitled “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephritis – Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2022 – Event-Driven Update.”

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system overreacts and attacks healthy joints and organs. When the immune system attacks the kidney in lupus patients, the organ suffers inflammation, a process also called lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is a severe complication affecting approximately 60% of the SLE patients. When left untreated, lupus nephritis can lead to long-term damage and even kidney failure with consequent need for dialysis.

The therapeutic market for lupus disease is dominated by generics, with Benlysta from GlaxoSmithKline accounting for the top-selling drug in the market. Benlysta is a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activation of immune B cells, which are involved in the overreaction of the body’s immune system in SLE. It is an expensive therapeutic drug, and the first and only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for lupus treatment in over 50 years.

In the report, the company provides an overview of SLE and lupus nephritis, namely in terms of etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, symptoms, pathophysiology and current treatment options. It offers a characterization of the lupus therapeutic marker, its unmet needs and opportunities, data on products under development and pipeline drugs, and an estimate of the annual costs of lupus therapy and treatment with a forecast of up to 2022. The report also contains an analysis of the impact that Benlysta had on the drug market after its approval in 2011, and a future prediction of the lupus therapeutic market including key industry drivers, limitations and challenges.

PharmaPoint suggests that the lupus therapeutic market has significant unmet needs, namely the increase in available therapeutic options for patients derived from the development of new, safe treatments with potent clinical benefits. According to the company, at the moment, seven biological therapies have the potential to be introduced in the market during 2012 – 2022. These new therapies are expected to change the competitive landscape and expand the lupus therapeutic market, not only for drug development companies, but for specialists and ultimately patients as well.