Atherosclerosis - HDL, ApoA-I, Carotid MRI and 64-slice CT offer opportunities for future treatment

Atherosclerosis generally begins in childhood and manifests clinically in mid-to-late adulthood. While the mortality from atherosclerotic conditions has declined significantly, in developed countries cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 50% of all deaths, and within the next 15-20 years, is projected to surpass infectious diseases to become the leading cause of death worldwide.

Melanoma - Lucrative commercial opportunities persist

Melanoma comprises just 5% of all skin cancers but it is the most deadly. In 2006, more than 100,000 cases of the disease are expected to be diagnosed in the seven major pharmaceutical markets. High unmet needs still persist for this tumor type and despite three decades of extensive R&D, five-year survival of advanced patients remains below 20%.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) - A market yet to reach its full potential

RSV mostly causes upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), resulting in the common cold. However, in certain risk groups, RSV can cause more severe lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) leading to bronchiolitis. These risk groups include elderly people, patients with underlying pulmonary or cardiac disease, premature infants, children under four years old and immunocompromised patients.

Multiple Sclerosis - Disease-modifying efficacy and side effects guide treatment choice

The disease-modifying drugs are considered by physicians to represent a significant advance for the management of MS. However, none is fully effective and there are problems with regards to side effects, dosing regimens and cost. Tysabri, a novel once-monthly drug is expected to be an improvement in terms of efficacy; however, there remains a concern over side effects and long-term safety.

Osteoarthritis - Market sees steady growth

The 2004 withdrawal of Vioxx from the global market had a negative effect on the COX-2 class, with a 44% fall in Celebrex sales for osteoarthritis in 2005. However, as patients sought an alternative to the COX-2s, there was positive growth in traditional NSAIDs, non-narcotic analgesics, narcotic analgesics, corticosteroids and HA viscosupplements, leading to a 1.1% increase in total market value.

Psoriasis - Anti-TNF's lead another indication

There is no cure for psoriasis, which profoundly affects sufferers quality of life, physical and social functioning. There is a particular unmet need for effective long-term therapies for psoriasis. Prevalence is the highest of the autoimmune diseases at 16 million in 2006, but this is deceptive in terms of market size, as the treated and severe patient populations are comparatively small.

What companies need to know about trends in physicians and consumers' use of the Internet

An understanding of the present and future market trends surrounding eHealth is vital in order for the pharmaceutical industry to develop effective multi-channel marketing strategies. It is advisable for stakeholders to invest in targeted initiatives that meet the specific information needs and support the decision making processes of the large numbers of physician and consumer groups online.

Key trends and strategic issues shaping the industry

Datamonitor has identified the key trends and events that impacted the pharmaceutical market on a macro-environmental and corporate strategy level in 2006. These range from the continuation of long term trends such as the focus on cost containment to more recent impacts such as the effects of Medicare Part D and the increasing power of the Democratic part in the US.

Esophageal Cancer: Treatment paradigms need revolution not evolution

Globally, esophageal cancer is the ninth most common tumor type and seventh leading cause of cancer-related death, however, its incidence fluctuates widely depending on geographical area. While relatively uncommon in Western countries, 50% of patients still present with locally advanced unresectable or distant metastatic disease, where treatment is complicated and chances of a cure are reduced.

Small Cell Lung Cancer and Malignant Mesothelioma

SCLC accounts for one-fifth of all lung tumor types. More than 80,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2007 in the seven major markets, although it is set to decrease due to changing smoking habits. Mesothelioma is rarer, although incidence is expected to increase in the coming years in Europe and Japan given the heavy use of asbestos in the 1970s and long latency period of the disease.

OTC Pharmaceuticals: Global Industry Guide

Datamonitor's OTC Pharmaceuticals: Global Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the OTC pharmaceuticals industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, textual analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, and profiles of the leading companies. This incisive report provides expert analysis on a global, regional and country basis.

Social network websites: best practices from leading services

Search Engine Marketing, insights and trends for  pharmaceutical industry

At the recent e-Marketing Summit in Zürich, organised by Eyeforpharma we have had pleasue to participate at workshop "Search Engine Marketing, insights and trends in Pharma". 

Open Source Drug Discovery for Neglected Diseases

Professor Marc Mandrinum works with an initiative that seeks to make biological and genomic data open and available such that anyone can go play with it and form communities around working with this data. The hope is that by having data freely available there will be many more people working with the data and thus more leads into potential therapies and cures. You can watch his video lecture at Farmavita.Net 

Getting Ready for WEB2.0 Pharma Marketing

Much has changed in the world of technology and marketing over the past several years. The pharmaceutical industry is certainly no exception to these trends as electronic marketing has forced many brand planners to rethink how their target audience accesses, uses, and shares branded and unbranded information in the electronic age.

Atopic Dermatitis - A high level of unmet need creates market opportunities

Atopic dermatitis is a skin disorder characterized by intense itch, dry skin and redness. Often considered a benign disease, it actually impacts very negatively on quality of life, sometimes more than psoriasis and diabetes. Through opinion leader interviews, Datamonitor has identified a high level of unmet need in atopic dermatitis treatment and believe that a number of market opportunities exist.

ePrescribing - Infrastructure and Impact on the Healthcare Markets in the US

Technology has been used to either inform or expedite the prescribing process in most modern healthcare systems for over two decades. Recently, market forces - including greater regulatory intervention, increased investment from stakeholders and decreased resistance from end-users - have begun to converge to set the stage for widespread adoption of truly integrated ePrescribing solutions.

Depression - Novel drugs to grow third-line market

Datamonitor believes that companies developing pipeline drugs for the depression market should concentrate resources on targeting third-line depression patients, a market with significant sales volume and few viable treatment options. GSK's gepirone ER is likely to be the first pipeline drug to enter the market and exploit this opportunity, with forecast sales of $615m in 2016.