Acromegaly treatment market

Acromegaly is a rare disorder caused due to the excess production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, affecting a patient’s physical appearance and internal organs. It is usually caused by benign pituitary tumor (adenoma), however, in rare cases acromegaly symptoms can be observed due to ineffective control of growth hormone-secreting cells by hypothalamus. Abnormal enlargement of hands, arms, feet, legs, and head, and gradual changes in facial features such as eye-brow, lower jaw, and nose are visible symptoms of this disorder. Untreated acromegaly leads to serious and life threating complications such as cardiomyopathy and ventricular arrhythmia. Blood test to measure levels of growth hormones or insulin-like growth factor and imaging of tumors through MRI scan and CT scan are commonly used diagnostic approaches to detect acromegaly. Some medications are 90% effective in shrinking tumor, however, success rate of type of treatment varies based on age, health or medical history of patients. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), 14,230 individuals of the U.S. were diagnosed with pituitary gland tumor in 2017, of which majority are benign tumor. Furthermore, in 2017, the National Organization for Rare Disorders estimated the prevalence rate of acromegaly as 50-70 person per million and 3 new cases occurs per million every year, which is expected to increase the demand for acromegaly treatment market.

Acromegaly Treatment Market Dynamics:

By Disease Type:

• Ectopic Acromegaly
• Pseudo Acromegaly

By Drug Class:

• Somatostatin Analogs (SSAs)
• Somatuline Depot (Lanreotide)
• Others SSAs
• Dopamine Agonists (DAs)
• Bromocriptine Mesylate (Parlodel)
• Others DAs
• Growth Hormone Receptor Antagonist (GHRAs)
• Somavert (Pegvisomant)

By Route of Administration:

• Oral
• Parenteral

By Distribution Channel:

• Hospital Pharmacies
• Retail Pharmacies
• Online Pharmacies

Market Driver:

New drugs in the market widens the choice of therapies for doctors and patients. In 2017, Midatech Pharma PLC submitted clinical trial application in human study of Q-Octreotide (MTD201) programme in cancer and acromegaly, and now it has received oral confirmation from Polish regulators for its approval in January 2018. Furthermore, Chiasma Inc’s new oral maintenance therapy for acromegaly treatment named Mycapssa, which has completed an international Phase 3 trial and further conducting an international Phase 3 clinical trial under a protocol accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for adult patients with acromegaly is also expected to boost growth of acromegaly treatment market over the forecast period. Expiration of drug patents during the forecast period can hamper the market temporarily.

As acromegaly is a non-preventable disease, early detection of the disease will help to cure the disease symptoms. Increasing awareness to differentiate between acromegaly and other disorders like gigantism, Marfan syndrome, and Pachydermoperiostosis, and further detecting the symptoms and diagnosing it will help in propelling the acromegaly treatment market growth. For instance, Acromegaly Awareness Day was celebrated on November 1, 2017 for the first time by World Alliance of Pituitary Organization (WAPO) and Pituitary Network Association to increase awareness on diagnosing the symptoms of this disease without any delay. Some foundation provided financial assistance to medicare patients suffering with acromegaly. For instance, in December 2017, HealthWell Foundation launched a new fund scheme where it provided a fund of US$ 10,000 for a 12-month grant to acromegaly patients who have annual household incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.  Such funding programs will provide financial ease to the patients suffering from acromegaly, which in turn will propel growth of acromegaly treatment market. In 2017, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was awarded Phase IIB Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of up to US$ 2.8 million from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the development of company’s orally-available, non-peptide somatostatin agonist drug candidate, CRN00808 that can be used for the treatment of acromegaly.

Acromegaly Treatment Market - Competitors:

Pfizer Inc., Novartis Pharma AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Midatech Pharma PLC, Strongbridge Biopharma plc, Chiasma Inc, Aegis Therapeutics LLC, Amryt Pharma plc, Antisense Therapeutics Ltd, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Inc, Dauntless Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Inc. are the major players involved in acromegaly treatment market.