AMD drug sales to reach £8.1bn by 2026

Pharmaceutical sales of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) drugs reached $4.9bn (£3.4bn) in 2016 and are estimated to increase to $11.5bn (£8.1bn) by 2026, according to a new report. 

Analytics company, GlobalData, found that the AMD market across the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and the UK is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9%.

Its new report, PharmaPoint: AMD, reveals that growth will be driven by new therapies entering the market and a global ageing society.

GlobalData predicts the launch of three drugs for the treatment of late stage dry AMD will be a large driver of growth, explaining that there are currently no prescription medications available for these patients.

Healthcare analyst at GlobalData, Edit Kovalcsik, added that in the wet AMD market, the launch of brolucizumab will enable pharmaceutical company Novartis to offset the losses to its AMD drug, Eylea, and regain dominance in the market.

“Once more efficacy and safety data accumulates and physicians become more accustomed to the use of brolucizumab, its advantage of less frequent dosing will allow it to claim an increasing share and become a first-line therapy if reimbursed,” Ms Kovalcsik said.

GlobalData expects the drug to become the highest selling among all AMD launches by 2026, with $4.1bn (£2.9) in global sales.