A Full Pipeline of Follow-on TNF-Antagonists 

The US$ 7.6 bln market of TNF-antagonists attracts numerous follow-on compounds including improved TNF-antagonists and molecules originating from new technologies

BARCELONA, Spain | Aug 01, 2006 | The Business Intelligence firm La Merie S.L. reported today that the huge market of US$ 7.6 bln in 2005 and the clinical validation of the target in many inflammatory indications has filled the pipeline of follow-on TNF-antagonists. Sales of the three marketed TNF antagonists etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab grew by 42, 18 and 64 %, respectively, in 2005 and are expected to further grow due to the still expanding number of approved clinical indications of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. At least six follow-on TNF antagonists are in clinical development and more than 16 projects in preclinical stages. Apart from antibody-based constructs, other technologies such as small molecules, vaccines, proteins, gene therapy, RNAi make use of the validated target in an attractive market to validate their technology at low development risk. These results and more were found in a competitor analysis conducted by La Merie Business Intelligence. The findings of the search can be acquired at www.pipelinereview.com, La Merie’s News Center and Online Store.

The range of indications for which at least one of the three branded TNF antagonists obtained approval ranges from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile RA, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease (CD), pediatric CD, ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. Further inflammatory indications such as asthma are under evaluation. The most advanced clinical stage follow-on TNF-antagonist are human or humanized/optimized antibodies in order to reduce the immunogenicity risk seen with chimeric molecules. Small molecules as selective or dual TNF antagonists also have reached clinical evaluation.

The preclinical pipeline of TNF antagonists consists of molecules derived from new technologies or molecules exploring other strategies such as vaccination or oral delivery. Engineered proteins and antibodies make up most of the pipeline attempting to develop and validate the respective technology by using a validated target in an attractive market.

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R&D Pipeline News is a premier information source about research and development projects in the pipeline of the biopharmaceutical industry. The periodical is directed to all stakeholders in R&D. The weekly publication comes in a rapid- and easy-to-screen tabular format and provides access to the original information source via hyperlinks. R&D Pipeline News covers all relevant treatment modalities and is directly delivered to the desktop via e-mail. More information about the journal, a free trial and subscriptions are available via La Merie’s Business Intelligence Center www.pipelinereview.com .

About La Merie
La Merie S.L. is a Business Intelligence enterprise fully dedicated to provide high quality R&D information to the biopharmaceutical industry. La Merie offers individual consultancy services and publishes reports and periodicals.

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R&D Pipeline News is a premier information source about research and development projects in the pipeline of the biopharmaceutical industry and is directed to all stakeholders in R&D. The weekly publication comes in a rapid- and easy-to-screen tabular format and provides access to the original information source via hyperlinks. R&D Pipeline News covers all relevant treatment modalities and is directly delivered to the desktop via e-mail.