U.S. asthma drug costs to jump 50% by 2023

Spending on medications to fight asthma will increase from $16 billion in 2013 to $23 billion in 2023 in the eight countries where most of these drugs are purchased, and one of the main drivers will be new products for severe asthma, according to a study by the consulting company GlobalData.

“The class of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of inhaled corticosteroids ... and long-acting beta-agonists ... is the leading drug class in terms of market value,” the study states, “and currently captures almost half of the total asthma market; however, its market share will shrink to 23% as targeted biologics for the treatment of severe asthma enter the market over the forecast period and start dominating the space, growing from 8.7% to 32% of the total asthma sales.”

Providers “will see a clear shift toward personalized medicine for the treatment of severe asthmatics.... It is now clear that severe asthma is not a single disease, but rather, consists of several clinical phenotypes, each having a unique underlying pathological pathway,” the study states.

The researchers add, “The uptake of these novel drugs will be a major driver of the asthma market growth and will offset the dip in sales caused by Singulair’s (montelukast’s) recent patent expiry and the patent expiry of numerous short-acting beta-agonist … products by 2017.”