New entrants to multiple sclerosis market will drive 10% pa growth through 2018

The market for disease-modifying multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies will expand at an annual rate of 10% through 2018, peaking at nearly $21 billion in that year in the top seven nations, according to health care advisory firm Decision Resources.

Market growth will be driven by the launch of at least six premium-priced disease-modifying therapies and forecast price increases in the US market. Among new entrants, Biogen Idec's (Nasdaq: BIIB) Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) is expected to have the greatest clinical and commercial success -owing to its compelling clinical profile - and will capture more than $4 billion in 2018 sales in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan.

The Pharmacor advisory service, titled Multiple Sclerosis, finds that the coming years will usher in a transformative era as the burgeoning number of treatment options fragment and further complicate an already complex treatment algorithm. Recent launches of additional oral agents, including Tecfidera and Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) subsidiary Genzyme's Aubagio (teriflunomide, will be followed by the emergence of more-convenient reformulations of platform injectables and three highly efficacious monoclonal antibodies - Genzyme/Bayer's (BAYN: DE) Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), Roche (ROG: SIX)/Genentech's ocrelizumab and Biogen Idec/AbbVie's (NYSE: ABBV) daclizumab.