Treatment market for Irritable Bowel Syndrome could hit $1.5 billion by 2023, says GlobalData

The global therapeutics market for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is set to rise in value from $589.6 million in 2013 to $1.5 billion by 2023, representing a high Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of almost 9.9%, says research and consulting firm GlobalData.

According to the company’s latest report*, this expansion will be driven primarily by rising IBS prevalence, along with the increasing uptake of Ironwood/Actavis/Almirall/Astellas’ Linzess in the US and five European countries (5EU), namely the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Linzess’ anticipated launch in Japan in 2017 will further boost the market.

Toli Koutsokeras, Ph.D., GlobalData’s Senior Analyst covering Immunology, says: “Of all IBS treatments, Linzess, which is used mainly as a second-line treatment and beyond in patients suffering from constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C), is anticipated to contribute the highest revenues by 2023, with approximately $307.2 million across the US, 5EU and Japan.

“Linzess faces competition from Sucampo/Takeda/Abbott’s Amitiza and the potential introduction of two additional IBS-C products, namely Synergy’s plecanatide and AstraZeneca/Ardelyx’s tenapanor, during the forecast period. However, we still expect the drug’s uptake to rise by 2023, due to increased physician experience with its use and continued marketing efforts by Ironwood, Actavis, Almirall and Astellas in their respective markets.”

Among the late-stage IBS pipeline therapies, GlobalData believes that Furiex’s (Actavis’) eluxadoline will generate the highest sales by 2023, with expected revenues of around $236.9 million following its anticipated launch in the US, 5EU and Japan in 2015, 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The analyst comments: “Eluxadoline could become the first treatment for both male and female diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) patients in the US without prescribing restrictions, and the first product indicated for IBS-D in the 5EU. It will therefore be free from any direct competition once it enters the market in these regions.”

Despite the positive outlook for the IBS treatment market, GlobalData’s report states that a number of major barriers will hinder further growth by 2023. These include the low IBS diagnosis rate, which is less than 50% in all seven major markets, resulting in fewer patients seeking medical attention and pharmacological treatments.

Koutsokeras continues: “Furthermore, the currently available IBS products demonstrate only modest efficacy, leading to low prescription and compliance rates. This has been a significant challenge to the global IBS therapeutics market over the past five years, with a high unmet need remaining for more effective drugs to manage patients.”

*PharmaPoint: Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2023