Antifungal Markets will Face Generic Competition

Tuesday 31 January 2012, Amsterdam

The report examines the global antifungal therapies, treatment usage patterns and treatment flow algorithm. In addition, the geographical distribution of antifungal therapies across the US, the top five countries in the European region and Japan are also provided in the report. The report also includes insights into the Research and Development (R&D) pipeline and the potential future blockbusters until 2017 with in-depth analysis of the top three antifungal therapeutic indications, namely aspergillosis, dermatophytosis and candidiasis. Furthermore, it also includes the market forecasts and treatment usage patterns of these three therapeutic indications. The report also explores the competitive landscape including top companies benchmarking. Finally, the key trend analysis on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and licensing agreements involving antifungals therapies is also presented.

Antifungal Markets will Face Generic Competition

GBI Research predicts that the global antifungals market will grow at a moderate rate due to the impact of generic erosion in the dermatophytosis and candidiasis markets. There is no dominant player in the market, which is highly fragmented. Although it was worth $9.4 billion in 2010, the majority of revenues came from generic products and not from the branded products. The fall in the dermatophytosis and candidiasis market revenues is due to the fact that drugs and topical creams such as butenafine, ciclopirox (Loprox), ciclopirox (Penlac), clotrimazole (Lotrimin), econazole (Spectazole), ketoconazole cream, miconazole (Monistat, Micatin), nystatin (Mycostatin), terbinafine (Lamisil) and tolnaftate have expired and the majority of drugs are generic.

A Low Treatment Seeking and Diagnosis Rate Suggests Huge Potential to Be Tapped

See figure: Antifungals Market to 2017, Global, Treatment Usage Pattern (million), 2010

The low treatment seeking and diagnosis rates will result in huge potential market opportunities.
This untapped market can only be accessed if the treatment seeking and diagnosis rates improve. Diagnosis is often delayed despite the availability of effective tests. Encouraging the early detection of fungal diseases by increasing physician and patient awareness is crucial. The treatment usage patterns for 2010 suggest that approximately 600 million people did not seek treatment, were improperly diagnosed or lost to alternative care or other options during the course of treatment. The focus on a greater understanding of the disease and early detection will help to improve the treatment seeking rate.
Dermatophytosis is a fungal infection that causes rashes and itching on the skin. Fungal infections are common in the obese and diabetic populations and as a result GBI Research expects the treatment seeking population to increase in line with the diabetic population.
A high diagnosis rate is a driver for market growth. Current diagnostic techniques involve self diagnosis, fungal culture, microscopy and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) tests, for which sensitivity and accuracy is not very high. Advances in the form of beta glucan tests and aspergillus GM EIA (Galactomannan Enzyme Immunoassay) as well as increased patient awareness will increase diagnosis rates, further supporting market growth.

A Weak Pipeline with Few Molecules in Development

The current pipeline contains only 38 projects across three indications, of which candidiasis accounts for 24%. A total of nine Research and Development (R&D) programs are being carried out for candidiasis, making it the second most active indication in terms of R&D activities among all antifungals market projects in the pipeline. There are two molecules in Phase III of the candidiasis therapeutics pipeline. Phase ll has four molecules, Phase I has two molecules and the pre-clinical development stage has one molecule. For dermatophytosis, a total of 15 R&D programs are being carried out. Seven molecules are in Phase II, while three are in Phase lll, four are in Phase l and one is in the preclinical stage. Finally, a total of nine R&D programs are being carried out for aspergillosis. In the pipeline, eight molecules are in the preclinical stage while Phase II accounts for two molecules, Phase III accounts for three molecules and Phase I accounts for one molecule.