Costly Atopic Dermatitis Therapies Impact Traditionally Low-Cost Market

BURLINGTON, Mass., June 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that efficacy in atopic dermatitis patients refractory to topicals and conventional systemics will be a key driver for 57% of surveyed EU5 dermatologists to prescribe emerging biologics. While payers across the EU5 recognize the high unmet need in this patient population that the emerging biologics will address, they are concerned about the budget impact that these premium-priced biologics will have given that the atopic dermatitis market is currently entrenched with low-cost topical and conventional systemic agents. These payers stress, therefore, that highly robust demonstration of added benefit over the current standard of care will be required for optimal health technology assessment (HTA) and favorable pricing and reimbursement (P&R) terms.

Among the three emerging atopic dermatitis biologics expected to launch between 2017 and 2021, surveyed EU5 dermatologists are more familiar with Sanofi/Regeneron's dupilumab than with AstraZeneca/Leo Pharma's tralokinumab and Roche's lebrikizumab, reflecting dupilumab's expected earlier European approval in 2018 versus 2021 for the other two biologics. Furthermore, most respondents in each country expect to prescribe dupilumab to their atopic dermatitis patients within the first year of availability.

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Other key findings from the Atopic Dermatitis | Access and Reimbursement | EU5 analyses include:

• While many clinically efficacious and cost-effective therapies are available for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, targeting moderate to severe patients who cannot be adequately managed by topical treatment or conventional systemics, due to lack of response to such drugs or safety concerns, offers drug developers an opportunity to prove cost-effectiveness in a sub-population, which payers report will be favorable for HTA and P&R negotiations, and will make budget planning more manageable.
• Surveyed dermatologists in EU5 countries where new drugs are given added benefit or innovation ratings as part of the HTA, based on dupilumab's clinical trial results, are enthusiastic about this drug's potential for achieving favorable ratings that would forge a path for premium-price negotiations.
• Although for both topical calcineurin inhibitors and conventional systemics, surveyed EU5 dermatologists (~60% for both drug classes) indicate that their prescribing is not restricted by payer policy, a small percentage of respondents (13-14%) collectively identify any single prescribing restriction including step therapy, patient-eligibility criteria, or treatment-duration limitations as a key constraint.

Insights from Yulia Privolnev, M.A. Principal Market Access Analyst at Decision Resources Group:

• "Manufacturers must balance pricing potential with uptake for emerging AD drugs, particularly biologics. Budgets at national, regional, and local levels in the EU5 are highly constrained, and payers have concerns that entry of these drugs into a traditionally low cost market will dent these budgets considerably. Consequently, manufacturers need to be willing to enter into cost-sharing and risk-sharing schemes to pave the way for optimal market access."

Insights from Sangha Mitra, Ph.D., M.B.A., Senior Business Insights Analyst at Decision Resources Group:

• "Since the EU5 atopic dermatitis market is largely generic and uses inexpensive drugs, surveyed dermatologists indicate that their prescribing is not generally constrained by any nonclinical factors. However, all this will change with the entry of biological therapies: surveyed dermatologists expect that payers will play a more active role in controlling and monitoring the prescription of the premium-priced biological therapies."

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About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group offers best-in-class, high-value data, analytics and insights products and services to the healthcare industry, delivered by more than 1,000 employees across 17 global locations. DRG provides the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, financial services and payer industries with the tools, insights and advice they need to compete and thrive in an increasingly complex and value-based marketplace. www.decisionresourcesgroup.com

Media contact:

Decision Resources Group
Whitney Goldstein
617-747-9037
[email protected]

SOURCE Decision Resources Group

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