Pfizer's Neurontin to earn 50% patient share in treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: Survey

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that a novel formulation of Pfizer's Neurontin that is dosed once a day would earn a 50 percent patient share in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia, according to surveyed U.S. neurologists. In Europe, such an agent would earn a patient share of 40 percent, according to surveyed European neurologists. Such a drug would become patient-share leader both in the U.S. and Europe's postherpetic neuralgia market in 2013.

The new report entitled Postherpetic Neuralgia: The Greatest Opportunities Are Improved Safety and Tolerability also finds that interviewed experts' concern regarding the need to manage the pain associated with NeurogesX/Astellas's Qutenza administration prevents the drug from earning Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. Great commercial opportunity exists for Qutenza which, like Endo/Elan/Grunenthal's Lidoderm (the current and future clinical gold standard), offers analgesic efficacy comparable to that of sales-leading Lyrica and is devoid of systemic side effects.

"Although experts recognize the long-term efficacy of a single administration of Qutenza as a significant advantage, they cite the need to manage the transient pain associated with the drug's administration as a significant disadvantage. In the balance of these attributes however, experts consider Qutenza a therapeutic option that compares favorably with Lidoderm," stated Decision Resources Analyst Sami Fam, Ph.D. "We believe Qutenza will have tremendous commercial opportunity should experts' perception of its ease of administration improve once they become familiar with the drug."