Antipsychotic drugs industry driven by the development of new-generation drugs

Posted by Susan Hill on July 23rd, 2019

Antipsychotic drugs are widely used for treatment of psychotic disorders and other mental illnesses. Psychotic disorders involve conditions such as schizophrenia; different types of bipolar disorders, such as anxiety or mania; major unipolar disorder; dementia; and other mental diseases. The introduction of first-generation antipsychotics took place in 1950, but the drugs belonging to this generation had many adverse effects, such as insomnia, dry mouth, drowsiness, blurred vision, which restricted the acceptance level of these drugs.

As technology developed, second generation of antipsychotics was introduced in the market. These products have very low to negligible adverse effects. Hence, they have better adoption rate and hold the largest share. The third generation of antipsychotics has only one commercially approved product—“Abilify.” This product has no reported adverse effects and, hence, has high acceptance levels amongst patients.

Rapid growth of antipsychotics can be attributed to the rising prevalence of psychosis and other mental disorders. Governments are focused on creating awareness regarding mental health and psychological illnesses, which is further anticipated to drive the demand for antipsychotics. Government bodies in collaboration with major players conduct social programs to break the stigma related to psychotic disorders that exists in the society.

Adverse effects of antipsychotics, such as insomnia, dry mouth, drowsiness, and blurred vision, are expected to affect the growth by decreasing the level of acceptance in patients. In addition, the possibility of dependency, habit formation, or addiction is affecting the adoption of these drugs.

Established brands such as, Zyprexa lost patent protection in October 2011, followed by Seroquel and Risperdal in 2012, which hampers the market growth for these drugs. Also, the entry of generic versions of these products slowed the growth of the already existing brands.