Promotional spending on atypical antipsychotice analyzed

US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb and the US subsidiary of Japan's Otsuka spend almost twice as much on the promotion of Abilify (ariprazole) as other marketers of atypical antipsychotics promoting their agents, according to a new report from Decision Resources. Surprisingly, psychiatrists and primary care physicians surveyed cite Eli Lilly's Zyprexa (olanzapine) and AstraZeneca's Seroquel (quetiapine), respectively, as the companies from which they receive the most promotional material, and fewer than 10% mention B-MS or Otsuka as a top-of-mind firm in atypical antipsychotics.

The overall branded atypical antipsychotics market is expected to grow from $15.9 billion in 2007 to $17.8 billion in 2011, before declining to $13.5 billion in 2012. These market dynamics are due to a balance of generics, launches of new agents and growth in new indications. Also, there have been shifts in leadership,

Sandra Chow, analyst at DR, notes that Zyprexa had been the US sales leader for many years. However, in 2006, Janssen's Risperdal (risperidone) overtook its position as the sales leader for the seven major global markets.