U.S. opioid use disorder cases could hit 1.9 million in 2021

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Opioid use has climbed significantly over the past two decades, but made an especially large jump in 2020, increasing 13%, according to analyst firm GlobalData.

Cases of opioid use disorder (OUD) could reach 1.9 million by the end of this year while 21 million Americans suffer from alcoholism, according to GlobalData projections. Both conditions require billions of dollars in treatment costs and could have a negative impact on U.S. life expectancy.

Because substance abuse tends to affect young and middle-aged adults disproportionately, it “could lead to stagnation or even a decrease in the U.S. life expectancy as more younger adults die prematurely,” said Walter Gabriel, an epidemiologist at GlobalData.

OUD is also fueling demand for FDA-approved medications intended to treat OUD including buprenorphine and methadone.

The opioid crisis could …

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What is needed to develop disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s 

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Developing disease-modifying therapies for neurodegenerative diseases remains a pressing need.

The incidence of neurodegenerative disease is ramping up in the U.S. and elsewhere as much of the global population ages. One out of three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Parkinson’s disease is also becoming more widespread. Between 2015 and 2040, the number of people with Parkinson’s could nearly triple, rising from 6.3 to 17.5 million.

But developing drugs that can slow or stop the progression of such diseases poses a significant challenge for drug developers. Eli Lilly’s donanemab, for instance, showed promise earlier this year in treating Alzheimer’s in a Phase 2 study summarized in NEJM.

Another Alheimer’s candidate, aducanumab from Biogen, has also shown promise, although late l…

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Injectable anti-HIV therapies could see strong growth

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The market for injectable anti-HIV therapeutics will be worth $28 billion by 2029, according to projections from the analyst and consulting firm GlobalData. 

GlobalData valued the broader HIV therapeutics market at $22.9 billion in 2019 across the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K. and Japan. 

While the overall market is growing at a low single-digit rate, injectable therapies will likely see more brisk growth, GlobalData projects. 

To date, the majority of HIV therapies are orally-delivered antiretroviral drugs although a handful of injectable drugs have hit been introduced over the years. 

Future injectable anti-HIV therapies could be administered less frequently than oral drugs. 

One early injectable anti-HIV therapy, Fuzeon (enfuvirtide) from Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY), is administered multiple times per day, posing a challenge for adh…

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Remote patient monitoring poised for further growth in clinical trials 

Remote patient monitoring technology from Biobeat can detect 14 cardio-pulmonary vital sign measurements. A number of pharma companies and contract research organizations are implementing the technology. Image courtesy of Biobeat.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is among the trends that will have the greatest impact on the pharma sector in 2021, according to the recent report, “The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry, 2021 Edition,” from GlobalData. After a period of gradual uptake, RPM “witnessed a massive uptake in the life-sciences sector in 2020,” according to the GlobalData report.

The technology offers several advantages. It can help pharmaceutical companies continue making progress with clinical trials during a pandemic. The ability to gather data from patients remotely can also reduce the burden on medical staff while reducing gaps in clinical trial data. “One of the advantages when you have freq…

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