Cytokinetics’ new heart failure drug, Omecamtiv Mecarbil (OM), will have to target patient subgroups in order to succeed in the crowded heart failure market, says GlobalData in its recent report.
Titled 'PharmaPoint: Heart Failure – Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2025', the report states that the global heart failure market is projected to reach $11.8 billion by 2025, driven by the development of new therapies.
OM, the most promising drug in the market, has an innovative mechanism of action. The drug has shown positive results in a recent Phase II study aimed at establishing its efficacy in reducing ejection fraction (HF-REF).
Despite the positive results, Cytokinetics will have to establish the positioning of OM in the HF-REF treatment space.
Companies operating in the treatment space need to address patient concerns by adding another medication to their treatment regimen, especially for a drug such as OM, which needs to be taken twice daily.
Heart failure patients already suffer from one or more co-morbidities, for which medications are already prescribed.
Physicians may, therefore, be reluctant to prescribe additional medications.
To encourage patients to take OM, Cytokinetics will need to clearly establish the efficacy of the drug, opines Elizabeth Hamson, PhD, GlobalData’s analyst covering cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Once the efficacy of the drug is established, there is potential for OM to be prescribed to a wider patient group.
Targeting the HF-REF market as a whole may seem lucrative but drug developers will have a better success rate by identifying and targeting patient subgroups, concludes Hamson.
