Outlook still strong for new drugs and device technologies in obesity

June 13, 2011 - PRLog -- The global market for products in the management of obesity currently stand at $1.3 billion, comprised mostly of malabsorption drugs (Roche's Xenical and a number of drugs being used off-label for obesity) and restrictive devices (by Allergan's Lap-Band and a number of products with more non-U.S. revenue).  The market has seen turmoil of late principally from the FDA's denial of Arena's Lorcaserin and Orexigen's Contrave.  But, as explored in a detailed 2011 report from MedMarket Diligence, this is hardly the end of the story, nor is it even representative of the future of the market for products in obesity management.

"With a global market that is conservatively expected to triple by 2019, it is no small wonder that there are numerous companies -- device and drug -- active in the development of obesity management products," says Patrick Driscoll, President of MedMarket Diligence and publisher of the 2011 global obesity management market report.  "Despite any adverse perspective in reimbursement, regulation, venture capital funding or any other driver or limiter in the medtech field, there are many incentives behind expanded use of existing approved products and the introduction of new drugs and devices."

According to Driscoll, these incentives include the nearly unstoppable upward trend in incidence and prevalence in obesity, the clinical recognition of obesity's co-morbidity sequellae in diabetes, heart disease and other significant drivers of healthcare cost, and the sensitivity in the U.S. federal government toward reigning in expenditures in healthcare.

The events of 2010 by the FDA in, perhaps, overreaching in its view of safety toward pending obesity drugs, gave rise to a conclusion -- "obesity drugs are dead" -- among those with short-term considerations that has been hard to argue against.  However, a cogent review of the drugs in the pipeline (yes, including Lorcaserin and Contrave, but also many others), reveals that the potential of obesity drugs remains firmly optimistic in the minds of their developers.  Devices, too, with the FDA's recent expansion of the criteria for Lap-Band, combined with pending introduction of a number of other obesity devices, show ample sign of continuing the growth in obesity product revenues.

The MedMarket Diligence Report #S835, "Products, Technologies and Markets Worldwide for the Clinical Management of Obesity, 2011-2019", detailed at http://www.mediligence.com/rpt/rpt-s835.htm, is a complete market and technology assessment and forecast of the products and technologies in the clinical management of obesity (bariatrics). The report describes the current and projected patient population in obesity, detailing their incidence worldwide, with available incidence by country for the U.S., major European countries, major countries in Asia/Pacific (including Japan, China, India and Australia), the clinical practices in their management to encompass surgical approaches, medical supervised severely restricted diets, drug therapies, OTC treatments, biopharmaceuticals, non-pharmacologic approaches and weight maintenance approaches. The report describes clinical trends in the management of the obese. The report details the products on the market and the status of those in development for bariatric surgery, drug therapy, gastric stimulation devices, brain stimulation devices, combination therapies and genetic therapy and other therapies under development, and will provide current and worldwide market forecasts (2009-2019) separately for pharmaceuticals (with separate segment forecast data for satiety, malabsorption, appetite suppression and combination drugs) and devices (with separate segment forecast data for stomach restriction artificial fullness, malabsorption, gastric emptying and appetite suppression), with current (2009) market shares of the leading competitors in each segment. The report profiles the 45 leading competitors, detailing current and potential position in the market, their products and their market strengths and likelihood of future success.

See http://www.mediligence.com/rpt/rpt-s835.htm for full report detail.  See also http://www.mediligence.com/store/page35.html for complete details on ordering the report for download.

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MedMarket Diligence provides data and insight to the medical products, investment and other industries on advanced medical technologies through focused medical technology market and assessment Reports and the Medtech Startups Database.