Reminder: Pharmboy is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.
(THRX) is a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule medicines for various therapeutic areas, including respiratory disease, bacterial infections, and central nervous system (CNS)/pain.
Figure 1. Theravance Stock Price the last year.
The company has a mixed product pipeline that will be discussed in a few paragraphs. It should be noted, though, that a majority of THRX’s pipeline (and future) is tied up with GSK in the treatment of asthma/COPD.
Asthma comes from a Greek word meaning “panting,” and it is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The disease is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Doctor’s clinically classify asthma according to the frequency of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate. Asthma can also be classified as atopic (extrinsic) or non-atopic (intrinsic).
Figure 2. Normal vs. asthmatic lungs/bronchi.
The causes of asthma are thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors (e.g., allergens). Treatment of acute symptoms is usually with an inhaled short-acting beta-2 agonist (such as salbutamol). Recent global data estimate the asthma market to be valued at $12.4 billion in 2009. It is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1.5% from $12.4 billion to $14 billion by 2017.
Figure 3. Overlap of Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Asthma, COPD, Bronchitis, Emphysema.
A brief description of the players in the asthma/COPD field are noted below, with GSK’s Advair and MRK’s Singulair owning a lion’s share of the market.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – I wrote about GSK here, and GSK owes its market-leading position in the global respiratory market to Ventolin for the treatment of asthma over 30 years ago. In 1990, the company developed and launched Serevent and Flixotide. A combination of these two compounds—sold under the brand names Seretide/Advair. Advair combination drug consisting of a corticosteroid (fluticasone) and a long-acting beta antagonist (salmeterol). It is the dominant drug in the market, with 2010 sales $7.94B billion, and will likely remain the market leader in the current generation of asthma medication.
AstraZeneca (AZN) – Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol) is a new asthma drug that…
