Major Depressive Disorder | Current Treatment: Physician Insights | EU5 | 2024

Agents for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) span multiple drug classes; while selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin / norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are considered the standards of care, branded therapies, including Brintellix (Lundbeck’s vortioxetine) and Spravato (Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine’s esketamine), are important treatment alternatives, particularly for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Given the highly genericized nature of the MDD therapy market, the differences in the availability of drugs in the EU5, the heterogeneity of the MDD patient population, and patients’ varied responses to treatment, the prescribing pattern of EU5 psychiatrists and GPs / internists can vary. Understanding the decision points and challenges that physicians face when treating MDD is paramount for marketers of current therapies and developers of emerging therapies to assess the opportunities for drug development in this highly prevalent indication in Europe.

Questions answered

• What are the drivers and constraints influencing physicians’ treatment decisions for MDD?
• How are patients being treated in various lines of therapy, and what is the patient share of individual therapies?
• What percentage of drug-treated MDD patients are partial responders, and what percentage are treatment-resistant? What is the most common course of action for partial responders and TRD patients?
• What drives switching to and from key brands (e.g., Brintellix, Spravato)?
• To what extent is polypharmacy used for MDD in different lines of therapy in the EU5?
• What are the product-level compliance and persistency rates among drug-treated patients?

Markets covered: EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom).

Key companies: Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Gedeon Richter, Recordati.

Key drugs: Brintellix, Spravato, Reagila, Rxulti, SSRIs, SNRIs.

Product description

Current Treatment: Physician Insights provides physician insights on treatment dynamics, prescribing behavior, and drivers of brand use so that marketers can create specific messaging around these treatment dynamics to more effectively increase or defend their market position.

Primary research: Survey of 127 GPs/internists and 125 psychiatrists

Key insights provided

• Factors influencing disease management and treatment decisions
• Drivers and constraints of treatment selection
• Physician-reported treatment practices and brand-level patient shares
• Rationale for changes in treatment approach
• Physician insight on persistency and compliance
• Physician-reported recent / anticipated changes in brand usage or treatment approach