Cytokine-Based Therapies and Inhibitors:R&D Pipelines, Markets, and Strategic Issues

Emerging cytokine-based therapies, and inhibitors of cytokines and their receptors, represent attractive markets that have become highly competitive. More than 120 companies are developing over 270 new therapies that either are cytokines, mimic cytokines, or inhibit cytokines and/or cytokine receptors. This report examines:

• Marketed cytokine-based therapies and inhibitors, and emerging new therapies
• Activities to expand approved indications for cytokines and cytokine inhibitors
• Pipeline of cytokine therapies and inhibitors in development, their targeted indications, clinical progress/data, issues or hurdles
• Current and potential markets for cytokines and cytokine inhibitors
• Market trends including sales data, major challenges for companies working in this field, and strategic considerations

In the past 25 years, numerous cytokine-based therapies and inhibitors of cytokines and their receptors have reached the market, with several of these products attaining over $1 billion in annual sales. Several such therapies represent established markets, but there are many new opportunities being pursued by pharmaceutical companies.

Cytokines are a large, diverse group of extracellular proteins that are produced by cells of the immune system and that act by binding to cytokine receptors on targeted cells, thus initiating a signaling cascade within those cells. Following a brief overview of cytokines and their classification, this report focuses on cytokine-based therapies and inhibitors that are currently marketed plus emerging new therapies. Our discussion of approved cytokine therapies and inhibitors includes activities to expand their approved indications and markets where relevant. A table of these currently marketed products encompasses some early biosimilars.

Cytokine-Based Therapies and Inhibitors: R&D Pipelines, Markets, and Strategic Issues next turns to an examination of the development pipeline of cytokine-based therapies. We begin by discussing selected emerging cytokine therapies, companies developing these therapies, the targeted indications, clinical progress or data (if available), and issues or hurdles that some specific emerging therapies may be facing. Extensive tables of emerging cytokine therapies accompany this discussion. We then turn to a discussion of emerging therapies that block cytokines or their receptors, thus blocking the interaction of cytokines and their receptors and therefore their activity, considering the same issues as for emerging cytokine therapies. Tables of emerging cytokine inhibitors accompany this discussion.

The extensive tables and discussion included in Cytokine-Based Therapies and Inhibitors: R&D Pipelines, Markets, and Strategic Issues demonstrate the high levels of interest and competition in this field. We discuss business and strategic considerations that a company in this field should be aware of. This includes information about the market for available cytokine-based products and inhibitors (including current sales of major products), plus brief discussions of the current and potential markets for emerging cytokine therapies and inhibitors, which can potentially be used for a wide spectrum of diseases. In addition, market trends, major challenges and hurdles, and other strategic issues are considered, including diseases that are targeted by emerging cytokine therapies and inhibitors, the role of personalized medicine in the field of cytokine-based products and inhibitors, and insights gleaned through interviews conducted with experts in the field.