Anti-addiction therapies market 2006-11 - Pharma's next Viagra?

More money is spent advertising alcohol than any other product. For some, gambling and cigarettes are pleasant distractions, yet for others they are the generators of unbearable cravings and the cause of considerable distress. For them, their addiction is a disease. According to a new report by Visiongain - Anti-addiction Therapies, 2006-2011 - society is crying out for solutions. Which pharmaceutical firms are now aiming to provide that cure?

Doctors and concerned specialists have long maintained a behavioral-based approach to treating addiction is the most effective treatment program. Suggested pharmaceutical solutions simply did not work. That is, it seems, until now. Two leading drugmakers have developed novel drugs that could revolutionize the treatment of obesity and nicotine addiction. And what is more, those drugs could save health authorities millions of dollars.

With the pharmaceutical industry anxiously seeking the next blockbuster product, it is hardly surprising that Pfizer's Chantix (varenicline) and Sanofi-Aventis' Acomplia (rimonabant) are generating so much interest. Are these drugs set to shift the focus of the pharmaceutical industry? asks Visiongain.