Global Ulcerative Colitis Market: Simponi and Entyvio Launches to Boost Growth by 2022

The global ulcerative colitis (UC) market value will increase steadily over the coming years, growing from almost $4.2 billion in 2012 to approximately $6.6 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.7%, according to a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report* states that out of the 10 major countries (the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, China and India), the US will continue to hold the largest UC market share by 2020, with 52%. France and Germany will follow with shares of 11% and 8%, respectively.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been continually dominating the UC market due to the success of Remicade. However, Remicade’s patent is set to expire between 2015 and 2018, which will knock J&J’s sales down from approximately $2 billion in 2012 to $1.5 billion by 2022, according to GlobalData.

Another key player in the UC industry, AbbVie’s Humira, will also lose its patent during the forecast period, with sales slipping from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $569 million by 2022.

However, the UC market will receive a major boost with the entry of J&J’s Simponi and Takeda’s Entyvio, with sales expected to reach an estimated $576 million and $1.3 billion by 2022, respectively.

Eirini Vavatsikou, PhD, GlobalData's Analyst covering Immunology, says: “Simponi shows better efficacy in UC than Humira and will therefore allow J&J to retain its positive standing in the UC industry for a longer period of time. On the other hand, Entyvio will have a slow start before gradually reaching blockbuster status, as a result of its remarkably safe profile for a biologic drug.”

Still, a number of barriers will limit any further growth in the UC market, including the lack of curative therapy, diagnostic markers for disease severity, and biologic treatment personalisation.

Vavatsikou concludes: “There is also a major need for preventive medicine that lowers the associated risk of colorectal cancer, as well as demand for steroid replacement, oral formulations and the management of infectious adverse events.”

*PharmaPoint: Ulcerative Colitis — Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2022