The global glaucoma market is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1%, rising from $2.6bn in 2016 to $3.8bn in 2026, according to a report by GlobalData.

Titled ‘PharmaPoint: Glaucoma’, the report covers seven major pharmaceutical markets of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan.

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With the release of pipeline products found to be the key driving factor, the report predicts a launch of five such late-stage products into the glaucoma market during the forecast period. The products include Santen’s DE-117 drug and another with undisclosed MOA, Aerie’s fixed-dose combination therapy Roclatan and two sustained-release (SR) implants.

Aerie’s Roclatan and Allergan’s pipeline product Bimatoprost SR are set to see the most success with sales of $631.9m and $609.5m, respectively, states Thomas Moore, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData.

“While glaucoma is considered as an established indication having numerous treatment options, some unmet need remains, the majority of which corresponds to greater patient compliance.”

Furthermore, the report forecasts that drugs introduced during the particular period will comprise 41% of the global glaucoma market in 2026. The trend of developing new classes of glaucoma drugs, which began in 2014, is expected to continue over the period.

Kowa’s Glanatec (ripasudil) was the first Rho kinase inhibitor to be introduced in the seven markets in 2014, and is followed by the recent approval of Valeant’s Vyzulta (latanoprostene bunod) and Aerie Pharmaceuticals’ Rhopressa (netarsudil) that also belong to new classes of glaucoma drugs.

The report also expects that certain pipeline products such as Ocular Therapeutix’s OTX-TP and Allergan’s Bimatoprost SR, which are based on the established strategy of reformulating existing drugs, will address poor adherence in glaucoma patients and have a significant impact on the related market.

While glaucoma is considered as an established indication having numerous treatment options, some unmet need remains, the majority of which corresponds to greater patient compliance.

The two SR implants, Ocular Therapeutix’s OTX-TP and Allergan’s Bimatoprost SR, which directly deliver drugs into the eye over several months, have the potential to elude any non-compliance issues that are usually associated with topical medicines, adds Moore.