Chronic Low Back Pain | Unmet Need | US/EU | 2018

Chronic low back pain (CLBP), defined as continuous low back pain lasting for at least three months, represents the largest segment of the chronic pain therapy market and thus is an attractive commercial opportunity for drug developers. Although rates of prescription drug treatment are high, a sizable proportion of patients are untreated or have pain that is inadequately controlled with current therapies, primarily nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioid analgesics (including opioid-acetaminophen combinations), dual-acting opioid analgesics, and antiepileptic drugs. This content provides quantitative insight into U.S. and European physicians’ perceptions of key treatment drivers and goals in the management of CLBP, the current level of unmet need in this indication, and an analysis of the commercial opportunities in this area.

Questions Answered

• What are the treatment drivers and goals for CLBP?
• What drug attributes are key influencers, which have limited impact, and which are hidden opportunities?
• How do current therapies such as acetaminophen-hydrocodone (AbbVie’s Vicodin, generics) and pregabalin (Pfizer’s Lyrica, generics) perform on key treatment drivers and goals for CLBP?
• What are the prevailing areas of unmet need and opportunity in CLBP?
• What trade-offs across different clinical attributes and price are acceptable to U.S. PCPs and European GPs for a hypothetical new analgesic for CLBP?

Product Description

Unmet Need: Provides quantitative insight into U.S. and European physicians’ perceptions of key treatment drivers and goals and the current level of unmet need for a specific disease. Commercial opportunities are analyzed, and the extent to which emerging therapies may capitalize on these opportunities is evaluated.

Markets covered: United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Primary research: Survey of 60 PCPs in the United States and 30 GPs in Europe.

Key companies: AbbVie, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mundipharma International, Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Pfizer, and Purdue Pharma.

Key drugs: Butrans, celecoxib (Celebrex, generics), diclofenac (oral; Voltaren, generics), OxyContin, pregabalin (Lyrica, generics), and acetaminophen-hydrocodone (Vicodin, generics).

Key metrics included:

• Stated versus derived analysis of U.S. and European physician prescribing behavior.
• Conjoint analysis with U.S. and European physicians, includes market simulator.
• Assessment of current drug performance against treatment drivers and goals.
• Physician perceptions of unmet need in the disease covered, and related diseases.
• Analysis of remaining drug development opportunities.