DUBLIN, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tldjc5/frontier_pharma) has announced the addition of the "Frontier Pharma: Asthma - Identifying and Commercializing First-in-Class Innovation" report to their offering.

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Analysis has confirmed the asthma pipeline to be highly active, with 252 products in active development across all stages. The range of mechanisms of action employed by these compounds is also highly diverse, especially in comparison to the existing market landscape. More pertinently, the degree and proportion of breakthrough innovations is significant. This analysis identified 59 first-in-class programs in the asthma pipeline, acting on 43 first-in-class molecular targets, accounting for 23% of all products with a disclosed molecular target and reflective of the high degree of innovation in this indication. This has far-reaching strategic implications for all market participants, as, despite the high clinical trial attrition rate, it is highly likely that many of the first-in-class technologies will reach the market over the coming decade and may transform the clinical and commercial landscape.

Biologics Growing in Prominence in Asthma Treatment:

While the current asthma market is almost exclusively dominated by small molecules, which account for approximately 99% (the exception being Xolair), the current asthma pipeline includes 64 biologics, accounting for 24%. Small molecules amount to 178 compounds, equating to 66%.

Xolair is also the only targeted therapy indicated for the treatment of a specific asthma phenotype. Its launch therefore addressed a significant unmet need for personalized therapy in asthma. Approximately 60% of asthmatics have allergic asthma, and may therefore benefit from Xolair treatment. However, only a minority of these patients has moderate-to-severe disease that is inadequately controlled with standard-of-care therapies, and is therefore eligible for treatment. Despite this, the drug has achieved blockbuster status, and although this can be attributed to a high Annual Cost of Therapy (ACoT), it is also reflective of how innovative drug development that targets unmet clinical needs can result in strong commercial outcomes. Indeed, drug developers are now looking to follow this example by developing highly specific biologics aimed at specific patient sub-types with the hope of benefiting previously underserved patients and generating strong revenues. Notable examples are mepolizumab, reslizumab, lebrikizumab and dupilumab, all of which target Interleukins (IL) heavily implicated in the inflammatory response.

A Deals Landscape with Numerous Investment Opportunities:

Analysis has confirmed that 52 of the 59 first-in-class products have not been involved in a licensing or co-development deal. Although a number act on targets that are not yet strongly substantiated in terms of their therapeutic potential in asthma in clinical studies, many are supported by promising in vivo and in vitro preclinical evidence, and as such are highly promising asthma therapies. Indeed, breakthrough innovations are highly desirable as an investment option.

Scope:

- A brief introduction to asthma, including symptoms, pathophysiology, and an overview of pharmacotherapy and treatment algorithms
- The changing molecular target landscape between market and pipeline and particular focal points of innovation in the pipeline
- Comprehensive review of the pipeline for first-in-class therapies, analyzed by of stage of development, molecule type, and molecular target
- Identification and assessment of first-in-class molecular targets with a particular focus on early-stage programs of which clinical utility has yet to be evaluated, as well as literature reviews on novel molecular targets
- Assessment of the licensing and co-development deal landscape for asthma therapies and benchmarking of deals involving first-in-class versus non-first-in-class-products

Key Topics Covered:

1 Tables & Figures

2 Executive Summary

3 The Case for Innovation in Asthma

4 Clinical and Commercial Landscape

5 Assessment of Pipeline Product Innovation

6 Signaling Network, Disease Causation and Innovation Alignment

7 First-in-Class Target and Pipeline Program Evaluation

8 Deals and Strategic Consolidations

9 Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tldjc5/frontier_pharma

Media Contact: Laura Wood, +353-1-481-1716, press@researchandmarkets.net

SOURCE Research and Markets