聚焦抑郁症治疗药物

抗抑郁药市场潜藏着巨大商机。全世界约有3.5亿人患有抑郁症,该疾病为全球范围内致残的第一大诱因。在美国,9.1%的人患有抑郁症。在世界范围内,接受抑郁症治疗的患者不到实际患病人数的一半,在一些国家甚至还不到十分之一。较高的发病率,再加上较低的市场渗透率,抗抑郁药市场的前景非常广阔。但开发抗抑郁药的公司同样面临许多挑战。心理治疗仍然是优于药物治疗的一线疗法。在药物治疗方面,近年来大量上市的仿制药使品牌抗抑郁药的市场价值缩水一半。由于儿童、青少年和青壮年用药患者的自杀率有所增加,现在要求所有抗抑郁药必须在说明书中加入黑框警告,这直接影响了药物在这些人群中的使用,成为抗抑郁新药面临的又一困难。许多患者在开始接受治疗的第一年内都会更换最初使用的药物,这对于药企而言,既是机遇也是挑战。目前抑郁症的发病机制尚未充分阐明,虽然这有利于开发具有全新作用机制的新药,但也使该治疗领域面临重重困难。

Spotlight on Drugs of Depression

Depression presents a huge pharmaceutical market opportunity. There are approximately 350 million people worldwide with depression, and it is the leading cause of disability in the world. In the U.S., 9.1 percent of the population suffer from depression. Globally, fewer than half of depression sufferers receive treatment for their illness, and in some countries this figure falls to fewer than one in 10. The high incidence rate, combined with limited market penetration, makes depression a high potential market for pharmaceuticals. However, the companies developing drugs for depression also face a number of serious challenges. Psychosocial treatment options remain the preferred first-line therapy ahead of medication-- and when it comes to drug treatment, the abundance of generic options available has significantly contributed to halving the value of the branded antidepressant market over recent years. Another hurdle faced by new drugs is the requirement that all antidepressants carry a black-box warning regarding the increased risk of suicide in children, adolescents and young adults, which limits their use in this population. Switching between medications presents both an opportunity and a challenge, as a significant number of patients will switch away from their first medication within the first year of treatment. The lack of complete understanding of why depression occurs also makes this area a difficult one, although it opens the door for the development of drugs with novel mechanisms of action.