Glaucoma | Treatment Algorithms | Claims Data Analysis | US | 2015
Glaucoma refers to a group of chronic, progressive eye diseases caused primarily by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), which left untreated can lead to damage of the optic nerve and eventual blindness. Treatment focuses on reducing and controlling IOP through the use of prostaglandin analogues, beta blockers, and alpha agonists, as well as other drug classes. The need to use multiple mechanisms to control IOP has led to increased use of fixed-dose combinations in the most severe patients in an effort to reduce drug burden and increase compliance. The large variety of available treatment options, plus the recent availability of popular generics, has created a competitive market that will pose challenges for both established players and new entrants.
Using national patient-level claims data, this report analyzes physician adherence to the treatment guidelines by exploring the use of key therapies in the newly diagnosed and recently treated glaucoma patient populations. Among the newly diagnosed patients, we provide a quantitative analysis of treatment patterns and share by line of therapy, as well as progression between lines, duration of treatment on each line, and use of concomitant treatment. Among recently treated patients, the report quantifies a drug’s source of business compared with its competitors, and details which drugs precede others through an analysis of add-versus-switch patterns. Additional analyses explore persistency and compliance by brand.
