Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development Center, Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Adam Glanzman Bloomberg | Getty Images
bristol myers squib The company believes Alzheimer’s disease is the largest market for its newly approved schizophrenia drug Cobenfi, which it expects will ultimately generate billions of dollars in revenue.
Company executives said in interviews that each of the treatments being studied for Cobenfi, including Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease excitatory dementia, bipolar disorder and autism, has multibillion-dollar potential. He said there is. But Bristol-Myers Squibb Chief Financial Officer David Elkins said Tuesday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco that Alzheimer’s disease is “a really big market here.” told CNBC.
Elkins said there are nearly 6 million people in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease, and about half of them have symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations and delusions. Cobenfi could be the first drug specifically approved for Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis, said Adam Lenkowski, chief commercialization officer.
Atypical antipsychotics (medications used to treat a variety of mental illnesses) are often used to treat psychosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, even though they are not approved for that purpose. But Bristol-Myers Squibb says such treatments can increase the risk of death, which Cobenfi does not.
On the other hand, agitation in Alzheimer’s disease is a symptom that causes restlessness and anxiety in patients, and some studies estimate that it affects about 60% to 70% of Alzheimer’s patients.
Bristol-Myers Squibb announced Monday that it plans to release early-stage trial data for Cobenfi in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis later this year, sooner than expected. The company also plans to begin Phase 3 trials in Alzheimer’s agitation, Alzheimer’s cognition, and bipolar disorder in 2025, and the autism study is expected to begin in 2026.
JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note on Tuesday that sales of Cobenfi could reach about $5 billion by 2030, with peak sales in the $10 billion range for multiple therapeutic uses. I predict that it will. That’s a big boon for Bristol-Myers Squibb, which faces pressure to offset potential revenue losses on top-selling treatments due to patent expirations.
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Cobenfi drug
Provided by: Bristol-Myers Squibb
This is a full-circle moment for Cobenfi, which became the first new type of treatment for the roughly 3 million American adults with schizophrenia in decades after winning approval in September. The drug is the result of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s acquisition of biotechnology company Karuna Therapeutics in late 2023 for a whopping $14 billion.
However, the drug’s roots lie in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Eli Lilly originally tested part of its drug, Xanomeline, in the 1990s to reduce cognitive decline, before delaying its launch due to severe side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. I did. Xanomeline activates certain so-called muscarinic receptors in the brain and reduces dopamine activity without causing the side effects associated with antipsychotic drugs.
Andrew Miller, founder and former president of research and development at Karuna Therapeutics, and current consultant at Bristol-Myers Squibb, sees xanomeline’s potential in neuroscience and reducing its side effects. To do this, they theorized to combine xanomeline with a second existing drug, trospium. He launched Karuna to develop this combination as a treatment for schizophrenia.
Other breakthrough treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have recently entered the market. biogen and Eisai”With Rekenbi Eli LillyThis is Kisunra. These treatments work in part by removing toxic plaques in the brain called amyloid that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, slowing the decline in memory and thinking skills in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
But as the disease progresses, people experience symptoms such as psychosis and agitation, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Elkins said.
“That’s where Cobenfy fits,” he says. “If we can get rid of psychosis and agitation, people’s cognition will improve. For caregivers and the healthcare system as a whole, imagine the impact this drug will have on patients and their loved ones.” It’s really exciting when you think about it.” In that context. ”