Report Overview

The market for sleep-wake disorders is expanding based on new indications and novel drugs which offer efficacious sleep solutions and wake-promoting effects while limiting adverse side effects that are associated with conventional drugs. In a global market estimated at US$4.3 billion and forecast to increase 158% to US$11 billion by 2012, drugs for sleep-wake disorders such as insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, shift-work sleep disorder, sleep apnoea, and restless legs syndrome are predicted to transform the market to a high-value CNS therapy area within a decade. Furthermore, new therapies in the pipeline that provide complete sleep solutions to patients with impaired sleep-wake rhythms or drugs that improve wakefulness in occupational settings will offer new market opportunities and treatment options. Trailblazer Cephalon has been integral in expanding the wake-promotion sector with Provigil and has stimulated the market to develop more drugs for conditions such as sleep apnoea, occupational shift-work disorders, and delayed-phase circadian rhythm disorders. Despite an optimistic outlook, immediate challenges in the market include short-term saturation in the insomnia therapy area as three new products were recently approved, namely Ambien CR, Lunesta, and Rozerem, with up to four further drugs expected to be approved and launched over the next 18 months including Indiplon, Gaboxadol, Doxepin, and Posidorm. In view of expanded product choice companies will need to adopt aggressive marketing approaches and utilize key therapeutic differentiators to claim market share for their products. However, the majority of sleep-wake disorders are underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed which indicates a significant market opportunity for manufacturers to redefine marketing strategies to optimize revenues for their products.

This report comments on strategic and commercial issues that may affect current product positioning and discusses key compounds that have the potential to become high-value products over the next decade. The report also provides insights into forthcoming market dynamics and product sales to 2012 to enable the reader to make assumptions about future markets and prospects, and utilize the data for proprietary predictive market modelling.