Global obesity drug market to reach over $1.5B by 2014

Fueled by the launch of new agents from Sanofi-Aventis, Alizyme and Arena Pharmaceuticals, the global obesity drug treatment market will expand to more than $1.5 billion in sales by 2014, according to research from Decision Resources.

Its new Pharmacor report entitled Obesity: Heavy Profits from Lean Pipelines, finds that French pharmaceutical major Sanofi-Aventis' Acomplia (rimonabant), expected to launch this year, will be the first obesity drug treatment that will be efficacious against related co-morbidities such as hypertension and dyslipidemia. Acomplia was recently the subject of a US Food and Drug Administration "approvable" letter, which means a delay in clearance, but the company stressed at its recent information meeting with analysts and journalists in Paris that it is confident that the drug will come to market this year (Marketletters February 23 and March 6).

Additional follow-on therapies debuting in the next decade, including drugs from Alizyme and Arena Pharmaceuticals, will offer much needed improvements in efficacy, safety, and tolerability, says Decision Resources. The report also suggests that the uptake of drugs in this market will be constrained by the lack of drug reimbursement available for obesity treatments.