Epilepsy drug market to reach nearly $3.7bn by 2016

Decision Resources has published its latest predictions for the epilepsy drug market through 2021.

The global market for epilepsy drugs will increase by around $800 million between now and 2016, new research suggests.

A study by Decision Resources claims that the market for anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) will grow from $2.9 billion in 2011 to almost $3.7 billion in 2016.

It will then level off through 2021, with just one major new drug expected to be launched before then, according to analyst Dr Nadja Rozovsky.

She said: "After a five-year surge in launches of new AEDs, the late-stage epilepsy drug development pipeline is dwindling.

"We currently forecast the launch of only one new molecular entity, UCB's brivaracetam, over the next decade."
In the immediate future, uptake of premium-priced third-generation drugs will fuel market growth. These include lacosamide (Vimpat), perampanel (Fycompa), eslicarbazepine acetate (Zebinix/ Stedesa) and ezogabine/retigabine (Potiga/Trobalt).

Second-generation drugs, such as levetiracetam (Keppra/E Keppra) and lamotrigine (Lamictal) will continue to displace first-generation AEDs and will maintain their market leading position through 2021, particularly in Japan.

The report notes that a significant market opportunity remains for companies working on new therapies for the 20 to 30 per cent of epilepsy patients whose seizures remain inadequately controlled with existing drugs.