The asthma treatment market value will grow from approximately $15.9 billion in 2013 across eight major countries (the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia) to $23.1 billion by 2023, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report states that this increase, which represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.8 per cent, will be driven largely by the expanding share of targeted biologics in the treatment of severe asthma.

Valentina Gburcik, Ph.D., senior analyst for GlobalData, says: “While the market share of fixed-dose combinations of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-agonists (ICS/LABAs) will shrink from almost half to 23 per cent, targeted biologics will enter the market and start dominating the asthma space, accounting for 32 per cent of total sales in 2023 from just 8.7 per cent in 2013.

“The uptake of these novel drugs will offset the dip in sales caused by the recent patent expiry of Singulair, and that of numerous short-acting beta-agonist, ICS, and ICS/LABA products.”

The current late-stage asthma pipeline is dominated by biologics that target various inflammatory pathways in specific patient subpopulations. GlobalData states that the companies with the strongest drug pipelines are GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Teva, Roche and Regeneron/Sanofi.

Gburcik comments: “While the subpopulations targeted by pipeline biologics are limited in size, these novel agents will begin to fulfill the important unmet need for a personalised approach to the treatment of severe asthma.

“Despite the development of these biologics, a significant growth opportunity will persist for new patented products, especially lower-priced drugs with more convenient dosing, which will improve patient compliance.”