The global market for central nervous system (CNS) therapies is on track to log its highest sales numbers since 2013, revitalized in large part by a wave of successful multiple sclerosis meds, according to a new report.
The CNS market is expected to exceed $80 billion in sales this year, per GlobalData’s analysis. That would place its year-over-year growth rate at 8%—another high not seen since 2013.
The market is on the rise in the wake of successful developments in MS treatments, specifically the use of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies to treat relapsing MS, which have “solidified neuroimmunology as a commercially viable and high-growth space,” according to the report.
GlobalData spotlighted Roche’s Ocrevus and Novartis’ Kesimpta as leaders in the space; Ocrevus, in particular, is expected to reel in more than $8 billion in sales this year, representing around 10% of the total market.
Elsewhere in CNS, the development of new psychiatric drugs for tough-to-treat conditions has kicked into high gear. Innovation has reportedly shifted away from long-established serotonin- and dopamine-based drugs in favor of “next-generation” approaches like N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor modulators and psychedelic-assisted therapies to tackle treatment-resistant depression and PTSD, among others.
“For years, CNS was deprioritized due to high R&D costs, clinical complexity and major failures in Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which discouraged further investment. Now, the success of MS drugs and psychiatry breakthroughs is flipping the narrative, reigniting investment in CNS therapeutics,” Eleni Tokali, a pharma analyst at GlobalData, said in the report.
Those successes have the pharma industry “moving towards a more diversified and sustainable approach to neurological and psychiatric drug development,” Tokali added, highlighting recent momentum in Alzheimer’s as another potential factor in the market’s future growth.
The approvals of Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and other Alzheimer’s treatments “signal progress,” per the analyst, but continued innovation is needed: “The next wave of innovations will determine the CNS market’s trajectory beyond 2025,” she said.