Eli Lilly Developing Cymbalta

Eli Lilly Developing Cymbalta



Eli Lilly Developing Cymbalta

Introduction

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. For many years Eli Lilly ruled the enormous antidepressant market thanks to Prozac. In 2001, however, the drug lost exclusivity in the United States. allowing other companies to eclipse Eli Lilly. Now that the FDA has approved Cymbalta for marketing, can Eli Lilly regain its spot atop the depression market?

Analysis

Cymbalta, a dual serotonin and noradrenaline inhibitor (SNRI), is indicated for major depressive disorder and diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP). Although Eli Lilly is a major CNS player due to the past commercial success of Prozac and also its antipsychotic Zyprexa, the company's vast marketing experience in this area does not guarantee that Cymbalta will also become a blockbuster.

Despite entering a crowded antidepressant market, Cymbalta's mechanism of action differentiates it from drugs such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa and Lexapro, which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs have become a controversial class; following widespread media coverage of potential side effects such as the risk of suicide and withdrawal symptoms that has raised serious questions about the safety and efficacy of antidepressants, the FDA demanded that manufacturers issue black box warnings (Jeffay, J., S. Bohannon, and E. K. Laspisa. 1997).

The dual action of Cymbalta should enable it to threaten the market position of Wyeth's Effexor, which is also an SNRI. But because Effexor is established in the market and has a wealth of clinical data supporting it, it will be difficult for Eli Lilly to switch over a substantial portion of the millions already using Effexor, especially since both drugs utilize the same (or similar) mechanism (Jeffay, J., S. Bohannon, and E. K. Laspisa. 1997).

Product positioning will be the key to the success of Cymbalta. There are significant opportunities in secondary disorders that Eli Lilly intends to target to set it apart from other antidepressants and generate additional revenues. By consistently emphasizing Cymbalta's efficacy in the treatment of physical symptoms in depression during clinical trials, Eli Lilly has focused on an area that has yet to be seriously targeted by other antidepressant manufacturers. In September the drug became the ...