Expected To Be The Top Selling Respiratory Drugs In The Future

1. Spiriva

Spiriva is a long-acting muscarinicreceptor antagonist developed by Boehringer Ingelheim and approved by the FDAin 2004 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Infact, there are two drugs under this brand name: SpirivaHandiHaler andSpirivaRespimat, the latter was not approved by the FDA until 2014, and bothhave the same drug ingredient tiotropiumbromide, but the aerosol formulation ofSpirivaRespimat provides comfort and convenience Sexual advantages are betterfor patients with initial diagnosis. In September 2015, the FDA approvedSpirivaRespimat for the treatment of asthma, and since then, more than 50countries have approved SpirivaRespimat for the treatment of asthma. The drugshave long been the top selling respiratory drugs, with sales reaching $4.25billion in 2015, and with the launch of the next-generation productSpirivaRespimat, it will remain the dominant respiratory drug in the next fewyears.

2. Symbicort

Symbicort, an Astrazeneca asthmacombination containing two ingredients: a quick-release long-actingbeta2-agonist and an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid, has been on the marketin the European Union since 2000, but it wasn't until 2006 that the FDAapproved it for sale in the United States. Given via a pressure-typequantitative inhaler, Symbicin is the top selling respiratory drugs for asthmapatients over the age of 12. It effectively controls the disease for a longperiod of time and improves lung function after 15 minutes of use. The drug issold by Astellas in Japan, with annual sales of more than $300 million. Globalsales peaked in 2014, though as patents expired in the United States in 2014and some generic drugs entered the market, Symbicort's sales declined, reaching$1.62 billion in the first half of 2016.

3. Seretide

Seretide is one ofGlaxoSmithKline's top selling respiratory drugs. It is an inhaler that treatsboth asthma and COPD. The US patent on its drug expired in 2011, but people atthat time did not see its sales volume will drop dramatically, because inaddition to the drug, it has inhaler devices. Generics companies can copy thedrug ingredient salmeterol, but they can't use glaxo's device, and patients areloyal to inhaler devices and won't change their medication habits. Sales peakedin 2013 at $5.2 billion, but were hit by the expiration of a European patent in2013. Sales fell to $3.68 billion in 2015 and $1.653 billion in the first halfof 2016, and sales of Suletide are expected to decline significantly in thecoming years as inhaler devices expire in August 2016.

4. Xolair

Xolair is a monoclonal antibodydrug, commonly known as omalizumab, that targets immunoglobulin E(IgE) and mayinhibit histamine-induced skin reactions by reducing the downstream effects ofIgE and cellular activation mechanisms. The drug, developed jointly by Novartisand Roche's Genentech, was approved in 2003 to treat moderate to severe asthmain patients older than 12 years who cannot be controlled by inhalablecorticotics. The FDA recently found that the drug has a high risk of heartdisease and other side effects, but that information will not be included inthe "boxed warning" section of the Xolair label, but in the"adverse events" section of the product label, which should be a bitof a silver lining for Roche and Novartis. In addition, this drug was approvedby both FDA and EU to treat chronic idiopathic urticaria in 2014. In recentyears, its sales have maintained relatively rapid growth, and it is consideredto be one of the top selling respiratory drugs in the future.

5. Esbriet

Esbriet is a drug for the treatmentof idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease of unknown etiologycharacterized by diffuse alveolitis and alveolar structural disorders thateventually lead to pulmonary interstitial fibrosis. The disease causes anirreversible and progressive decline in lung function. Esbriet works bydownregulating fibrogenesis-promoting regulators such as TGF-beta. The drug wasoriginally developed by InterMune, which was later acquired by Roche, and theJapanese marketing rights were acquired by Shionogi. Launched in Europe in 2011and approved by the FDA in October 2014, it should be noted that this drug hasno patent rights, but it has exclusive orphan drug status in the EU until 2021,so it is optimistic about its sales in the next few years, 2015 Annual saleswere $570 million, reaching $360 million in the first half of 2016.

6. Anoro

Anoro is a drug jointly developedby GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of COPD. Itwas approved by the FDA in December 2013 and is administered as a once-dailyinhalation therapy. But Anoro is not indicated for the relief of acutebronchospasm or the treatment of asthma. Anoro is a combination drug of thelong-acting muscarinic receptor antagonist (LAMA) UMEC (umeclidinium) and thelong-acting beta2 agonist vilanterol (VI, vilanterol), administered through anew dry powder inhaler, the Ellipta. Anoro's main competitor is Spiriva, bothof which are long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists, and Anoro's advantageis that it also has the function of promoting β2 receptors, which may challengeSpirivaCOPD as the top selling respiratory drugs in the future.