In 2020, Levomilnacipran Will Garner a Patient Share of Approximately 5 Percent of the Drug Treated Unipolar Depression Population in the U.S., According to Findings from Decision Resources

January 30, 2012—Burlington, Mass.—Decision Resources, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that surveyed U.S. psychiatrists indicate that they would prescribe Forest Laboratories/Pierre Fabre’s levomilnacipran to 25 percent of their treatment-resistant depression patients, which will equate to approximately 5 percent of the drug treated unipolar depression population in the U.S. in 2020.

Decision Resources’ analysis of the unipolar depression drug market also finds that surveyed U.S. psychiatrists and managed care organization pharmacy directors agree that effect on depressive symptoms is one of the attributes that most influences their decisions regarding prescribing and formulary status determinations, respectively, in treatment resistant depression.

“Clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders indicate that emerging therapies have no advantage on this attribute over antidepressant augmentation with Abilify (Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka Pharmaceutical), the sales leading antipsychotic in treatment-resistant depression,” said Decision Resources Analyst Alana Simorellis, Ph.D. “This is despite the fact that some emerging therapies will address other depression symptoms more adequately than Abilify.”

Additionally, based on clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders, bupropion SR/citalopram (GlaxoSmithKline’s Wellbutrin SR, generics; Lundbeck’s Cipramil, Forest Laboratories’ Celexa, generics) has earned Decision Resources’ proprietary clinical gold-standard status for depression, owing to its strongest clinical profile among key marketed products for treatment-resistant depression.

The findings also reveal that sales of products attributed to the treatment of unipolar depression, which includes major depressive disorder, minor depression and dysthymia, are expected to decline from $11.6 billion in 2010 to $9.5 billion in 2020. Negative market growth in the next ten years will be largely due to three blockbuster antidepressants losing market exclusivity in the United States: venlafaxine XR (Pfizer’s Effexor XR) in 2010, escitalopram (Forest Laboratories’ Lexapro/Lundbeck’s Cipralex/Seroplex) in 2012 and duloxetine (Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cymbalta/Xeristar) in 2013.

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Decision Resources provides a comprehensive view of what is happening in a specific drug market now and in the decade ahead. The research includes analysis of the unmet need and near-term drug development opportunities that exist within a drug market powered by primary research from physicians and payers. The robust market forecast and opportunities analysis is comprised of the Pharmacor 2012 advisory service and the DecisionBase 2012 report series.

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