Depressive Disorders Market

Depressive Disorders Market Overview

Depression is a chronic medical condition characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and lack of interest in external stimuli. It is a commonly diagnosed mental health disorder and is considered among the leading causes of disability across the globe. It has been estimated that over 300 million people (considering all age groups) suffer from depression worldwide. Further, depression and other depressive disorders are projected to be responsible for an economic burden of up to USD 210 billion per year in the US. Despite the high prevalence and significant impact of this disease, less than 50% of affected individuals receive treatment in high-income countries; this figure stands at less than 10% for low-income countries. According to the World Health Organization, barriers to effective care for depression and other depressive disorders, include lack of resources, lack of trained healthcare professionals, inaccurate diagnoses of the condition and the social stigma associated with to mental health disorders.

A number of blockbuster drugs are available to treat depression; these include Prozac and Celexa (approved in 1980s), Paxil and Zoloft (approved in 1990s), and Lexapro and Cymbalta (approved in 2000s). These drugs work by modulating monoamine levels in the brain, a mechanism that has been re-evaluated and improved across the last six decades. Since the 1950s, around 30 branded drugs and more than 150 generic products have been approved by the FDA to treat various forms of depression. Currently, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) form the mainstay of treatment options for depression. Despite the availability of generics and other branded drugs, patients have voiced the need for better antidepressants as currently available SSRIs take a long time (few weeks) to demonstrate therapeutic benefit. In addition, around 50% of treated patients do not respond to the first prescribed antidepressant and need to go through months of trial and error-based therapy regimens before an appropriate drug is identified to treat their underlying condition. Further, there are many patients who never respond to any of the available therapeutic strategies, highlighting an urgent need for effective treatment solutions for depression. Several stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry are currently engaged in efforts to develop various types of interventions and drug / therapy candidates with novel mechanisms of action to treat depression. 

Recent Developments in Depressive Disorder Market:

Several recent developments have taken place in the field of depressive disorder. We have outlined some of these recent initiatives below. These developments, even if they took place post the release of our market report, substantiate the overall market trends that have been outlined in our analysis.

• In September 2023, Cybin announced enrollment completion of phase 2 study of CYB003 focusing on major depressive disorder. 
• In August 2023, Biogen in collaboration with Sage Therapeutics announced the FDA approval of ZURZUVAE™, the first and only oral treatment approved for women with postpartum depression and issued a complete response letter for major depressive disorder. 
• In July 2023, Cybin entered into a collaboration with Worldwide Clinical Trials with an aim to support future clinical development of CYB003 in major depressive disorder.

Scope of the Report

The “Depressive Disorders Market: Pipeline Review, Developer Landscape and Competitive Insights” report provides an extensive study on the marketed (approved post 2010), clinical and preclinical molecules available / being developed, for the treatment of depressive disorders.

Figure 1.1 summarizes the scope of the report and the specific modules that have been covered in detail, in the document.

Amongst other elements, the report includes:

• A detailed assessment of the current market landscape, providing information on drug developer(s), phase of development (marketed, clinical and preclinical / discovery stage), type of molecule (small molecule or biologic), type of therapy (monotherapy, adjunctive therapy or combination therapy), type of depression (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, treatment-resistant depression and depression (type unknown)), type of drug class (anti-depressant and anti-psychotic), mechanism of action, dosing frequency (twice daily, once daily, twice weekly, once weekly, once in 28 days, twice yearly and once only) and route of administration (oral, nasal and parenteral) of the drugs / therapies being developed for the treatment of depressive disorders.
• A detailed assessment of discontinued drugs / trials, featuring information on the number of discontinued drug development programs, year of discontinuation, geographical location (of discontinued trial), phase at which the development program was discontinued, mechanism of action of discontinued drug, disease indication (for which the drug was being investigated), reason(s) for discontinuation and information on affiliated developer companies.
• An analysis of the partnerships that have been established between 2012 and 2019 (till March), covering R&D collaborations, licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, product development and commercialization agreements, clinical trial agreements, and other relevant deals.
• An analysis of the investments (between 2010 and 2019 (till March)) made at various stages of development in companies that are focused in this area, including seed financing, venture capital financing, IPOs, secondary offerings, debt financing, grants and other offerings.
• A comprehensive clinical trial analysis of completed, ongoing and planned studies for different types of depressive disorders. For the purpose of this analysis, we considered the clinical studies registered till February 2019, and analyzed them on the basis of various parameters, such as trial registration year, current trial status, current trial phase, type of depressive disorder, mechanism of action, leading industry and non-industry players with highest number of completed / ongoing trials, regional distribution of clinical trials, and enrolled patient population across different geographies. 
• An insightful analysis on clinical end-points being evaluated in late-stage ongoing and planned studies, for various types of depressive disorders. For the purpose of this analysis, we considered the phase III clinical studies registered till February 2019, and identified the most important, primary endpoints being evaluated.
• An insightful market assessment summary, highlighting the clinical and commercial attractiveness of pipeline molecules (phase II and phase III), taking into consideration size of enrolled patient population (for the trial in the highest phase of development), route of administration, therapy type and dosing frequency (for quantifying clinical attractiveness), and target patient population, expected launch date and size of developer company (for quantifying commercial attractiveness).
• An elaborate discussion on the various strategies that can be adopted by the drug developers across key commercialization stages, namely prior to product launch, post-marketing, and near patent expiry, including a timeline representation of the key strategies adopted by drug developers for the commercialization of their proprietary products. 
• A case study on the upcoming digital health solutions for the management / treatment of depression, featuring information on the various product development pathways adopted by companies involved in this segment of the market; it includes brief descriptions of popular digital solutions as well.

The insights presented in this report are backed by a deep understanding of data gathered from secondary sources. The opinions generated over the source of the study, were influenced by inputs from key players in this domain. All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums and inputs from primary research. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.