Ulcerative colitis drug market will nearly double to $2.1 billion in 2018 in top seven markets

The ulcerative colitis drug market will nearly double from $1.2 billion in 2008 to $2.1 billion in 2018 in the seven leading markets of the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan, according to advisory firm Decision Resources. Through 2018, the primary drivers of market growth will be the uptake of Abbott/Eisai's Humira (adalimumab) and Centocor Ortho Biotech/Merck & Co/Mitsubishi Tanabe/Janssen's Simponi (golimumab), as well as an increase in the diagnosed prevalent population in the USA.

DR's Pharmacor 2010 findings show that interviewed experts indicate that significant opportunity remains for the development of more effective maintenance therapies with sustained long-term efficacy, new agents that treat severe and refractory disease and new treatments that can compete with potent corticosteroids such as prednisone.

High prices of emerging biologics expected to limit their uptake