Market Analysis of Alzheimer's Drug Alzheimer is a disease that leads to the progressive and irreversible brain disorders, which destroy thinking skills and memory of the affected person. The disease also affects individual's ability to carry out certain tasks. The symptom of Alzheimer appears in most people at their mid-60s, and has been the common cause of dementia among people 60 years and older. Major symptoms of Alzheimer include memory loss, inability to comprehend simple language, and unpredictable problems. The symptoms occur in the affected person because there is a lack of connection in the neurons (nerve cells) of the brain. Since neurons transmit messages to the different part of the brains, organs, and muscles, the neuron of the affected persons many face challenges transmitting messages to the brains and organs. In the United States, FDA (Food Drug and Administration) has put different drugs for the clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer, however, one or two drugs have been approved.

The objective of this study is to carry out the analysis of the Alzheimer's disease ("Indication") that includes market analysis, currently approved treatments, and technology used for the treatments.

Market Characteristics

This section discusses the market characteristics of Alzheimer, which includes the age, sex, and a number of the affect persons. The analysis assists in enhancing a greater understanding of the characteristics of people suffering from Alzheimer, and estimated costs of the treatment.

Age, Size, Sex, and Geographical Data for Alzheimer

In the United States, Alzheimer affects over 5.2 million Americans costing the healthcare system approximately $200 billion a year. In Europe, 6.4% of people aged 65 years and older are affected by Alzheimer. Globally, approximately 3.9% of people in their 60s are affected by Alzheimer. In the United States, 1 out 10 older people of 65 years and older is affected by dementia, which is one of the symptoms of Alzheimer. (Qui, Kivipelto, & Strauss, 2009). Individuals whose their families have the history of Alzheimer are also more likely to develop Alzheimer than people with no history of Alzheimer in their families. Moreover, Alzheimer affects more women than men in the United States, (Vina, & Lloret, 2010). Typically, two-thirds Americans suffering from dementia are women. Out of the 5.2 Million Americans aged 65 years and above suffering from Alzheimer 3.4 million (65%) are women and 1.8 (35%) million are men. The logical argument behind more women being affected by Alzheimer than men is because women live longer than men in the United States. Thus, older people are at the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer.

Alzheimer's Association (2015) adds to the argument by demonstrating that a level of formal education is one of the major factors that leads to the prevalent of Alzheimer. Typically, people with few years of formal education are at higher risks of developing Alzheimer than people with more years of formal education. The logical reason behind this argument is that education builds a cognitive reserve making people with more years of education to be able to resist Alzheimer than people having lesser years of education.

By looking at the prevalence of ethnic and racial categories of people with Alzheimer, it is revealed that proportion of non-Hispanic whites in the United States living with Alzheimer are more than other ethnic groups. However, based on the statistics ratio of ethnic groups in the United States, older Hispanics and African-Americans are at higher risks of developing Alzheimer than older whites. (Alzheimer's Association, 2016). Moreover, older African-Americans are twice likely to develop Alzheimer that non-Hispanic white. However, a number of other ethnic groups with Alzheimer are non-significant. A variation in lifestyle, health, and socio-economic risk factors have been associated with differences in developing the risks of Alzheimer's disease among African-Americans, Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Moreover, genetic factor makes a larger proportion of older Hispanics and African-Americans developing Alzheimer than other minority ethnic groups. Additionally, a higher rate of poverty and lower level of education are the other factors.

More importantly, the number of older adults affected by Alzheimer across the states vary. While every state and region in the United States are affected, nevertheless, states in the West and Southeast are more affected by Alzheimer than other states and regions. Between 2015 and 2016, the top three states with the higher number of older adults suffering from Alzheimer are California (610,000), Florida (510,000) and New York (390,000). (Alzheimer's Association, 2016). Thus, states in the Southeast, and western...

The analysis also shows that the healthcare providers spent estimated 17.7 billion hours with patients suffering from Alzheimer, which valued over $220 billion in 2013. In 2015, over 15 million caregivers delivered over 18.1 billion hours of unpaid healthcare service for Alzheimer's patients. However, family caregivers spent over $5,000 a year to treat a family suffering from Alzheimer. In 2016, the Alzheimer disease cost the country more than $236 billion because one person develops the disease every 66 seconds in the United States. Unless a drastic health intervention is implemented to curtail the health problem, it is projected that the Alzheimer will cost the country more than $1 Trillion by 2050 because more than 13.5 million Americans will be suffering from Alzheimer by 2050.
Current Approved Treatments

In the United States, there is still no approved drug for the treatment of Alzheimer. Between 2002 and 2012, out of 244 drugs tested in clinical trials, only one drug was approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). However, the FDA has approved the Aricept, Razadyne, Exelon, and Namenda for the treatment of the memory loss, which is the major symptom of Alzheimer. The advantage of these drugs is that they assist in stabilizing or lessen symptoms that inhibit chemicals used to carry the message to the brain nerve cells. The disadvantage of these medications is that they cannot totally treat Alzheimer or stop the damage done to the brain by Alzheimer.

Biogen is another drug for Alzheimer. The advantage of this drug is that it assists in lowering the brain amyloid. However, the Biogen has not yet been proven effective to cure Alzheimer. (Reardon, 2015). The Biogen Idec is the company that has developed the Biogen drug for Alzheimer. While the company has spent more than $2.5 billion to develop the Biogen, however, the market payoff of the drug will be more than $10 billion.

The market analysis of the Biogen for the treatment of Alzheimer is promising, however, the company is still facing different obstacles before launching the drug in the U.S. market. Although, the FDA has approved the use of Biogen for the clinical trial of Alzheimer, there is still no indication that the number of people suffering from the disease is reducing. If the patients lack confidence in the drug, the company faces the risks of losing the market values. Since the company has already spent more than $2 billion to develop the drug, losing its market values may be disastrous for the company. Moreover, if the drug fails the clinical trial, there is a tendency that the FDA will disapprove the drug, which will force the company to withdraw the drug from the market. However, Whalen, (2014) argues that there is a market prospect for Biogen because the drug has increased the market values of the company by 6.4% adding to approximately $6.4 billion to the company market values.

Obstacles to Enter the Market

Different obstacles face the new companies wishing to enter the industry. First, the new company needs to abide to the regulatory and legal requirements before developing the drugs. Typically, the new company may need to spend billion of dollar in the R&D before the drug is approved for the clinical trial, and if the FDA does not approve the drug, the company will lose all the money spend on the drug development. Thus, a company trying to enter the market is required to carry the cost-benefit analysis before launching the R&D for the drug development. Additionally, the new company will need to carry out an effective feasibility study of the new product before entering the market. Moreover, the new company needs to carry out a comprehensive competitive analysis to identify competitors in the market, and devise the strategies to beat the competitors to achieve the market advantages.

Conclusion

The study carries out the analysis of Alzheimer, and outcome of the analysis reveals that the disease is one of the top diseases that affects older people 60 years and older in the United States. At present, there is no cure for Alzheimer, nevertheless, the Biogen is currently being put for the clinical trial, and it is hoped that the drug will alleviate the suffering of Alzheimer patients.

Reference

Alzheimer's Association (2016). 2016 Alzheimer's…