Product Launches to Fuel Expansion for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephritis Treatment Markets by 2022

Friday 28 February 2014, Amsterdam

The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) treatment market in the seven major countries (7MM) will increase significantly in value over the coming years, jumping from approximately $473.6 million in 2012 to $1.1 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.36%.

The company’s report* also states that the total revenues for Lupus Nephritis (LN) in the 7MM – the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan – will climb from an estimated $216.6 million in 2012 to $505.9 million by the end of the forecast period, representing a slightly lower CAGR of 8.86%.

The new report attributes the anticipated growth in both markets to the higher uptake of Benlysta and off-label Rituxan, along with the introduction of new biological therapies and overall increase in prevalent cases of SLE and LN across the 7MM during the forecast period.

Toli Koutsokeras, Analyst, says: “The approval of Benlysta in 2011, which made it the first product to gain marketing approval for SLE patients in more than 50 years, has paved the way for the introduction of new disease-modifying treatments and reignited the interest of pharmaceutical developers in this therapy area.”

Currently, all late-stage pipeline products for lupus are biologic drugs that will compete with Benlysta and offer new treatment options to patients. These include Anthera Pharmaceuticals’ blisibimod, Eli Lilly’s tabalumab and Merck Serono’s atacicept, which are anti-BLyS therapies.

Also in the late-stage pipeline are UCB’s epratuzumab, ImmuPharma’s Lupuzor and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Orencia, which all boast novel mechanisms of action.

Koutsokeras continues: “With a number of products still in development, the lupus therapeutics market remains characterized by significant unmet needs. LN patients are greatly underserved with currently available treatments, and the mortality of all lupus patients remains high when compared with the general population.

“As a result, the most pressing unmet need is for the development of new therapies that boast more positive safety profiles, offer potent clinical benefits to patients and expand their treatment options,” the analyst concludes.