Healthcare Technology Featured Article

October 22, 2012

Two Newly Approved Drugs to Spur Growth in Hepatitis C Pharmaceutical Market


 One of the next growth areas for the global pharmaceutical industry will be in the treatment of hepatitis C, thanks to the approval of two new drugs to treat the disease. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (USFDA’s) approval of two drugs, Incivek and Victrelis, in May has reportedly sparked explosive pharmaceutical industry revenue gains that will see the hepatitis C market grow exponentially in size by 2018, predicts new research by healthcare sector analysts GBI Research.

A new report by GBI Research found that the market for hepatitis C will rise from $2.6 billion in 2011 to just under $15 billion by the end of 2018. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent.


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According to GBI Research, last year’s introduction of Incivek (which was co-developed by Vertex and Johnson & Johnson) and Victrelis (developed by Merck & Co.) are what spurred the growth period for the global hepatitis C market. The hepatitis C pharmaceutical market had been in decline prior to that.

Both Incivek and Victrelis will be subject to large-scale marketing efforts across the US, Europe and Japan in the coming years and will contribute significantly to the industry’s value, according to GBI Research.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease affecting primarily the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus. The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis. Nearly eight million people worldwide were estimated to have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 2011, climbing from 7.6 million in 2004. Thanks to improving treatments and an increasing awareness within the general population, GBI Research expects this figure to drop below the seven million mark by 2018.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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