DDL 23 — Day 2

The second day of DDL 23 got underway with an invited talk from OINDP consultant Steve Nichols who reviewed the state of the inhaled drug market in 2012 with a promise to answer the question, “Is there much happening in the inhaled area at the moment?”

Among the collaborations announced during 2012, Nichols pointed out, there were more licensing deals than mergers, and he singled out the MicroDose Therapeutx/Moerae Matrix collaboration on an MK2 inhibitor, noting that it was “quite encouraging to see that we are still developing inhaled products for non-respiratory diseases.

While market analysis reports varied throughout the year, Nichols said, predictions of compound annual growth rate ranged from very small to quite robust, but none of the reports predicted contraction in the market. One interesting development, he pointed out, was the decision by UK supermarket chain ASDA to begin selling inhalers over the counter, which could have serious ramifications for the market in the future.

After reviewing additional developments in devices, new e-technology, and milestones from major pharma companies, among other topics, Nichols concluded that, indeed, there is a good bit going on in the inhaled area at the moment.