The uveitis market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9% throughout the forecast period (2023 to 2033), reaching $1.5 billion across the seven major markets (7MM: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US) according to GlobalData’s recent report: Uveitis: Opportunity Assessment and Forecast. Major driving factors of this growth include the anticipated launches of novel pipeline agents, their associated high price point and an increase in diagnosed prevalent cases of uveitis.
Uveitis is a group of inflammatory diseases that affect the uveal tract, which consists of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. Inflammation may involve a specific component or the entire uveal tract, potentially extending to other ocular structures such as the retina, optic nerve, vitreous humour and pars plana in severe cases.
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Uveitis frequently impacts the anterior chamber of the eye and is considered to be a leading cause of blindness. The most vision-threatening forms of the condition primarily involve the posterior segment, due to the risk of damage to the optic nerve and choroid layer. In interviews conducted by GlobalData, key opinion leaders (KOLs) emphasise that the most pressing unmet needs in the management of uveitis include improving the safety and side-effect profile, longer-acting therapies, drugs with other mechanisms of action, and greater awareness and education of physicians.
Late-stage pipeline products anticipated to reach the uveitis market during the forecast period will introduce new mechanisms of action. These are Tarsier Pharma’s TRS-01, an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 activator, neuropilin-1 antagonist and toll-like receptor family inhibitor which is administered as eye drops, Priovant Therapeutics’ PF-06700841-15 (brepocitinib tosylate), a non receptor tyrosine protein kinase TYK2 inhibitor and tyrosine protein kinase JAK1 inhibitor which is administered orally, Eli Lilly’s Olumiant (baricitinib), a tyrosine protein kinase JAK1 inhibitor and tyrosine protein kinase JAK2 inhibitor which is administered orally, Kiora Pharmaceuticals’ KIO-104, a dihydroorotate dehydrogenase quinone mitochondrial inhibitor which is administered intravitreally, and Roche’s EBI-031 (vamikibart), an IL-6 inhibitor also administered intravitreally. Oculis Holding’s OCS-02 (licaminlimab), a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor in late-stage pipeline development, introduces the first monoclonal antibody with an ophthalmic route of administration into the uveitis space.
All in all, these late-stage pipeline candidates are of great benefit within the uveitis space, especially in the cases of patients who do not respond well to existing treatment options.
While the uveitis market is projected to grow in the forecast period across the 7MM, it may face challenges. KOLs have noted that despite the side effects associated with corticosteroids, these products have a proven track record of efficacy and quick-acting pipeline agents will face difficulty proving that their efficacy matches them. Furthermore, the anticipated high cost of therapy associated with pipeline agents may impact the drugs’ shares of the market once they reach the uveitis market. Nonetheless, the launch of late-stage pipeline therapies with new mechanisms of action, routes of administration and longer treatment intervals will undoubtedly be a driving force for market growth in the uveitis space.
