Drug Research Augments Growth of Liver Disease Treatment Market

A recent statistic revealed by the American Liver Foundation (AFL) says that at least 30 million Americans are afflicted with some form of liver disease. These are triggered by modern-day unhealthy lifestyles and excessive consumption of alcohol. Moreover, the geriatric population, which is an easy target, is also a major contributor to the liver disease treatment market. It faces an assured growth because of these unmet clinical needs and treatment modifications. 

Allied Market Research has conducted an extensive study on the liver ailments, size, and share of therapeutics market and published a report on the same. The study has explained the increasing incidence of hepatic disease such as Alcohol Liver Disease (ALD), Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), and liver fibrosis in the different regions worldwide. They have predicted that, by 2022, the global market for liver disease treatment is projected to reach $19,536 million. This will be marked by a CAGR of 11.2% from 2016 to 2022.

Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) witnessed in developed nations

A lot of developed nations have been facing the problem of Alcoholic Liver Disease or cirrhosis of the liver. This is because the lifestyle of most of the people in regions of North America and Europe have led to heavy consumption of alcohol. Developed Countries like USA, Germany, and France, where alcohol is consumed on a large-scale, have contributed to the liver disease treatment market. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) states that nearly 24.9% of adults in America were heavy consumers of alcohol in 2015. Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatic damage has also been observed in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific, where the population has deficient diets and unhygienic sanitary conditions.

The liver disorders are being extensively researched and clinical scientists are coming up with faster and more novel methods to reduce liver damage. Since 50% of the predominant liver problems are diagnosed at a delayed stage, governments and international agencies have come up with awareness programs that are targeted at people belonging to different geographies and demographics. FDA has now approved the usage of drugs that will help to abstain from alcohol. These drugs, such as, acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone reduce the desire to drink. The treatment of alcohol liver hepatitis has triggered the development of new drugs, especially Glucocorticosteroids and steroids that have been found to be beneficial in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. It has the added advantage of reducing inflammation of the liver. These medications gain popularity due to its early response to treatment. 

Prospective drug development for liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis apparently has no recorded therapy for its treatment. More and more pharmaceutical companies and medical research organizations are putting in a lot of resources to constantly evaluate the liver disease treatment market and come up with breakthroughs in drugs and medicines. Researchers are engaging in looking for alternative bio-drugs that will combat the side-effects of long term usage of liver treatment drugs. The main focus of the market is to mitigate the organ damage and counter the aftermath of metabolic changes in liver. Liver transplant should be the last resort, since 70% liver damage can be cured with proper drug usage. New diagnostic techniques are also needed to be developed since liver diseases like Hepatitis can go undetected in the early stages.

Scientists at National Institutes of Health have recently developed a new drug, which reduces the progression of liver fibrosis in mice. The new compound is a chemically modified version of ibipinapant, a brain-penetrating cannabinoid type 1 (CB-1) receptor antagonist used in scientific research. Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Dr. George Kunos’ team have included a molecular group that directly inhibits iNOS, the enzyme responsible for generating nitrogen compounds that promote inflammation. They have also modified the structure of the compound to reduce its ability to penetrate the brain. “This study represents an important step towards an effective treatment for liver fibrosis,” said Dr. Kuno., part of NIH. Medical advancements like these are encouraging developments, since they provide hope for new liver treatment therapies.

FDA approves new drugs for Hepatitis Viral Infections

Hepatitis is also another fatal disease that has led to a large number of health complications in countries, such as Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and Central Africa. A recent finding by the World Health Organization says that African kids under the age of 10 are the largest sufferers of Hepatitis A and C. The latest drug proposals by two major pharmaceuticals, Gilead, and Merck have met approval from the FDA. It has allowed the development and usage of drugs called Eplcusa and Zepatier, by the respective companies. These therapies are directed at reducing chronic Hepatitis C viral (HCV) infections in patients with or without liver fibrosis. While Epclusa is a fixed combination drug of Sovaldi with velpatasvir, targeted at Genotype 5 of HCV, Zepatier is targeted at HCV infections ranging from Genotype 1 to 4.

WHO has been actively taking steps to reduce the incidence of deaths and medical issues associated with liver failure. It has set up volunteer camps to spread awareness about importance of hygiene and healthy diets in areas of Central Africa. It has encouraged the development of similar such drug therapies especially suited to these living conditions, and administered vaccines to reduce the occurrence of hepatic disease at a young age. 

The market is dominated by different types of treatments and therapies, such as anti-viral drugs, chemotherapy drugs, vaccines, immunosuppressant drugs, immunoglobin, corticosteroids, and targeted therapy. The size of this sector is mammoth considering the different regions that come into it. The liver disease treatment market is widely spread over North and South American, APAC, and LAMEA countries. WHO states that the US and Europe are the largest drug markets for alcohol induced liver ailments. The liver transplant market is also a major segment of this particular sector, and this is being affected by the number of readily available donors, the costs of hospital expenses, and other medical issues.

The market forecasts for liver disease treatments are promising, since there are a lot of factors and opportunities that augment its growth. A lot of companies such as Sanofi, Pfizer Inc., Gilead Science. Inc, AstraZeneca, Merck & Co. Inc, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson Private Limited are the key market players who have made a prominent impact on the liver ailment therapy market. With daily research and improvement, the size and need for the market is increasing at a fast rate. In spite of certain challenges like FDA regulations over medical experiments, side-effects associated with medicine and considerably high cost of R&D investments, the therapeutics markets is still evolving on a dynamic basis, thus proving that it is instrumental for combating liver disorders and cancers at a global level.  

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