A Novel Oral Drug for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Crohn's Disease Would Earn 40 Percent Patient Share in the U.S. and Eu

Abbott/Eisai's Humira Will Remain Decision Resources' Proprietary Clinical Gold Standard Through 2018, According to a New Report from Decision Resources

WALTHAM, Mass., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that for the treatment of Crohn's disease, a novel oral drug for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease would earn 40 percent patient share according surveyed U.S. and European gastroenterologists. Branded oral agents such as budesonide (AstraZeneca/Prometheus's Entocort EC, Dr. Falk's Budenofalk) and oral mesalamine products (e.g., oral enteric-coated mesalamine such as Warner Chilcott/Giuliani's Asacol, Merckle/Recordati/Faes Farma/Eisai's Claversal, Axcan's Salofalk and oral ethylcellulose-coated mesalamine such as Shire Pharmaceuticals/Ferring/Nisshin Kyorin's Pentasa) currently enjoy high patient shares in the Crohn's disease drug market.

"If a more potent oral drug with fewer side effects were available, surveyed gastroenterologists indicated that they might opt for the emerging drug instead of budesonide and oral mesalamines for moderate Crohn's disease patients," stated Decision Resources Analyst Benjamin Guikema, Ph.D. "Gastroenterologists also indicated that they would likely prescribe the emerging drug ahead of marketed biological agents for severe patients, especially if the novel oral drug were priced at a discount to high-priced biologics."

The new report entitled Crohn's Disease: Physicians Want Therapies That Induce and Maintain Remission More Effectively Than TNF-alpha Inhibitors also finds that Abbott/Eisai's Humira will retain Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status through 2018 because of its superiority in maintaining clinical remission and its ability to improve quality of life. While some therapies in development for Crohn's disease hold promise, most have less favorable efficacy, safety and tolerability, and/or delivery compared with Humira.

"In addition to retaining Decision Resources' clinical gold standard status, we forecast that Humira will claim the leadership position in the Crohn's disease market by 2011, thanks to the accumulation of safety data and increasing physician comfort with the drug. The convenience of its bi-weekly subcutaneous administration is also fueling uptake, especially among younger, more active patients, who prefer it to Remicade's intravenous administration," added Dr. Guikema.

About the Report

Crohn's Disease: Physicians Want Therapies That Induce and Maintain Remission More Effectively Than TNF-alpha Inhibitors is a DecisionBase 2010 report. DecisionBase 2010 is a decision-support tool that provides in-depth analysis of unmet need, physician expectations of new therapies and commercial dynamics to help pharmaceutical companies optimize their investments in drug development. 

About Decision Resources

Decision Resources (www.DecisionResources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

About Decision Resources, Inc.

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SOURCE Decision Resources