New Pulmonary Embolism Treatments Offer Patients Freedom from Needles

Wednesday 18 April 2012, Amsterdam

Treatment for Pulmonary Embolisms (PE) will evolve to better suit patient needs and enhance quality of life, according to the Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Therapeutics - Pipeline Assessment and Market Forecasts to 2019 report.

The report upcoming drugs will offer greater convenience and decreased risk of haemeorrahaging, showing a positive future for PE patients. This, along with an increasing global incidence rate and strong therapeutic pipeline, will also lead to the growth of the PE drugs market over the coming years, creating fierce competition amongst market players.

The current primary treatment for PE is anticoagulant therapy, which relies upon long-term oral therapy with vitamin K antagonists, such as warfarin. Current anticoagulant products are associated with serious side effects, such as increased risk of hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia, leading to an increased risk of bleeding.

This severe risk demands frequent patient monitoring to maintain precise dosage adjustment, requiring regular blood samples to be taken, and some of the products themselves are additionally in an injectable form. This brings a risk of low patient compliance, due to the time consuming nature of treatments, alongside pain and needle phobias often associated with blood tests.

This analysis found that factors associated with needle phobias create a significant unmet need in the global PE treatment market. New therapies with improved efficacy and safety profiles are therefore highly anticipated. Late-stage pipeline OACs expected to launch in the future will offer significant improvements. Bayer Xarelto (rivaroxaban), Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer's apixaban (Eliquis) and Boehringer Ingelheim's Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) allow improved ease of administration, with less dosing and less frequent dose adjustment.

The PE pipeline contains as many as 30 molecules in various stages of development, 67% of which are me-too molecules, promising to provide similar treatment to marketed products alongside improved efficacy and safety profiles. These strong pipeline products will improve physician and patient compliance, and intensify competition in the PE therapeutics market, sustaining strong market growth rate during the future.

The report valued the global PE therapeutics market at $2.5 bn in 2011, forecasting growth at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.6% in the immediate future, reaching $4.5 bn by 2019.

The report is an essential source of insight into global pulmonary embolism therapeutics, providing actionable analysis on the key trends affecting the market, including pipeline products. The report also provides insights into the prevalent competitive landscape and key players expected to significantly alter the market positioning of the current market leaders. This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by a team of industry experts.