Biotech Values

[DonShimoda]

XOMA - Uveitis Market Forecast

According to Global Data, the uveitis therapeutics market is expected to grow at 26.4% annually for the next seven years and reach $1.6 billion by 2017. This significant growth is primarily attributed to increasing therapeutic options for the treatment of uveitis. In addition, the successful launch of some targeted therapies such as Luveniq (voclosporin), AIN457 and the approval of Humira may significantly stimulate market growth in the near future. However, the complex etiology of the condition will continue to be a barrier for market growth.

The current competition in the uveitis therapeutics market is weak and the available treatment options have only been moderately successful in meeting market demand. The products currently available in the market are associated with low safety and as the products currently available do not serve the markets unmet need the market continues to present opportunities for stronger pipeline candidates. The extent of unmet need in the uveitis therapeutics market is considered to be at a high level and can be filled by technologically advanced products possessing improved safety and efficacy profiles which are disease targeting.

Uveitis Market Opportunity

The following market analysis is summarized from the Lux Biosciences website. Lux Biosciences recently halted its application efforts for uveitis treatment (See message #83091092)

UVEITIS

The Disease: Uveitis is a collective term for variety of ophthalmic conditions that result in chronic inflammation of the eye. Uveitis can be of infectious or autoimmune origin and is generally classified by anatomical location. Anterior uveitis affects the front of the eye, intermediate and posterior uveitis affect the back of the eye and panuveitis affects all parts of the eye. There is substantial evidence indicating the involvement of T-lymphocytes, key immune system cells involved in inflammatory processes, in the development of autoimmune uveitis.

Uveitis is an under-diagnosed and under-recognized medical condition that causes ocular pain and loss of vision. Uveitis afflicts the young – the median age at time of diagnosis is 39 years - and the disease typically persists chronically. The general course of uveitis is similar to other autoimmune diseases. The disease flares causing inflammation in the eye and symptoms such as ocular pain, redness vision loss, and floaters and then remits with treatment. The goal of treatment is to reduce the frequency and intensity of disease flares, as active inflammation is believed to cause cumulative damage to the eye resulting in persistent loss of vision. Experts estimate that 10-22% of new cases of blindness in the United States result from this disease. In the US alone, approximately 350,000 people suffer from uveitis; of these, approximately 130,000 are afflicted with the more severe forms, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis. These forms are typically not responsive to treatment with topical corticosteroids, and require systemic treatment. The chronic use of oral corticosteroids, the only systemic therapy approved by FDA for these forms of the disease, is burdened with multiple side effects including osteoporosis, hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, impaired wound healing, weight gain, cosmetic effects, and mood disorders, and in the eye, cataract formation and glaucoma.

The Market Opportunity: There is a major need for a safe, effective, and approved medication in uveitis. In North America and Europe, approximately 250,000 patients combined are afflicted with noninfectious uveitis involving the intermediate or posterior segments of the eye, i.e., the target group for LUVENIQ. As uveitis affects a young patient population, the socio-economic impact of the disease is greater than that of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME). In addition, a new medication may have the potential to change the course of the disease leading to better outcomes, such as a major delay in the mean time to vision loss, similar to the drugs found to be disease modifying in rheumatoid arthritis. The dearth of available treatment options for the treatment of uveitis at the current time is, indeed, comparable to the situation in rheumatoid arthritis in the early 1990’s, before the advent of novel disease-modifying therapies.
http://www.luxbio.com/Uveitis.htm