Ulcerative Colitis Pipeline: Gastroenterologists Expect Etrasimod to Compete Well Against Zeposia
Excitement is building among gastroenterologists for a handful of ulcerative colitis pipeline drugs currently in development. Etrasimod is one of the drugs causing a stir among HCPs who commonly treat ulcerative colitis.
According to a new UC market research analysis that Vivisum has just published, US gastroenterologists expect Etrasimod to pose strong competition against another S1P molecule, Zeposia. HCPs also say Etrasimod will compete well against Xeljanz.
Ulcerative Colitis Clinical Pipeline analyzes eight drugs in the ulcerative colitis pipeline. Among those eight, Vivisum’s research projects Etrasimod to have the most significant impact on the market.
Etrasimod trial results generating excitement about the ulcerative colitis pipeline
Etrasimod’s clinical trial results received some positive attention recently from Nasdaq, which stated that the SIP receptor modulator could become Pfizer’s next blockbuster drug. US gastroenterologists are less interested in the manufacturer’s stock price than the drug’s clinical trial results in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. What is exciting to HCPs is that Etrasimod’s efficacy, safety and tolerability should be an improvement over existing ulcerative colitis medications.
According to Vivisum’s research, nearly half of the surveyed gastroenterologists expect Etrasimod’s efficacy to be better than existing UC treatments. A similar, but slightly smaller percentage – 46% – of HCPs expect Etrasimod’s safety to be an improvement over the competition. Etrasimod’s tolerability also impressed gastroenterologists, with more than half expecting better results than existing ulcerative colitis drugs.
New Data Show HCPs’ Expect Big Gains from Zeposia
Vivisum’s new strategic market analysis also found that four out of 10 surveyed gastroenterologists expect Etrasimod to compete directly with Zeposia, Bristol Myers Squibb’s oral therapy for ulcerative colitis. HCPs expect few drugs in the UC pipeline to compete against Zeposia better than Etrasimod.
As a new market entrant, Etrasimod may be facing stiff competition from Zeposia. Zeposia’s head start on the market, having received FDA approval for treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis in 2021, has it poised for big gains.
Vivisum’s research found 84% of gastroenterologists anticipate Zeposia’s prescription volume to increase by mid-2023, a higher percentage of HCPs compared to any other ulcerative colitis treatment by a wide margin. Moreover, 15% of surveyed gastroenterologists expect Zeposia’s prescription volume to increase significantly.
The expected increase in prescription volume for some branded UC treatments comes at the expense of more traditional treatments. Gastroenterologists expect to see decreases in prescriptions for broad ulcerative colitis therapies, such as Prednisone and immunomodulators. Simponi is the branded therapy that the highest percentage of gastroenterologists – 35% – believe will see a decrease in prescription volume by mid-2023.
As a new market entrant, Etrasimod may be facing stiff competition from Zeposia. Zeposia’s head start on the market, having received FDA approval for treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis in 2021, has it poised for big gains.
Familiarity with the Ulcerative Colitis Pipeline
Among the eight pipeline drugs that Vivisum analyzed in Ulcerative Colitis Clinical Pipeline, HCPs expressed varying levels of familiarity and recognition. Upadacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, and Etrasimod have the highest rates of familiarity among US gastroenterologists, respectively. For those HCPs who expressed familiarity with the eight drugs, they express high levels of excitement for new potential treatments that will emerge from the ulcerative colitis pipeline.
Gastroenterologists also expressed familiarity with other drugs in development for ulcerative colitis. These medicines include Filgotinib, Risankizumab, Mirikizumab, Guselkumab, Brazikumab and Cobitolimod. Ulcerative Colitis Clinical Pipeline provides detailed profiles and analysis of all these drugs, including:
- Impact scores for each ulcerative colitis pipeline product
- Individual product expectations
- Competitor analysis per pipeline product
- Clinical attribute gaps in the current UC marketplace that gastroenterologists expect pipeline treatments to fill
- Pipeline UC treatments that will be most competitive with existing brands
